All of a sudden, it seems like there are touch screen PCs everywhere. I've even seen monitors and all-in-one desktops touting their "built for touch" features. While I like the touch screen on my tablet, I'm not sure what the point is on a laptop or desktop. What advantages do these new touch screen PCs really offer?
Signed,
Torn about Touch
Dear Torn,
Depending on whom you talk to, touch screen computers are either the natural evolution of the PC or the dumbest idea ever. (On one side you have Microsoft and Intel touting the latest Windows 8 touch screen PCs and on the other you have people quoting Apple's Steve Jobs and Tim Cook about touch not belonging on laptops or vertical displays.) So who's right?
Well, no one, really. As with deciding on any other computer feature—for example, display size or processor—choosing to have a touch screen or not is a matter of preference and your needs.
Let's take a look at the pros and cons of touch screens on a computer so you can make up your own mind about them.
Touch Screens Are a Quicker, More Intuitive Way to Interact with Your Computer
Using a touch screen to interact with your PC is faster, easier, and maybe even more fun than using a mouse or trackpad. And while we love using keyboard shortcuts to work faster on our computers, you have to learn and remember them.
Tapping and swiping on a touch screen, on the other hand, is more intuitive, since you're interacting directly and immediately with the elements on the screen. If you use trackpad multi-touch gestures or have used a tablet or smartphone, working with a PC touch screen feels just as natural and fluid. Photo by Intel Free Press
If you have a touch screen PC with pen (stylus) input, you get even finer precision and can write or draw naturally on the screen. The pen input panel on Windows 8 (and Windows 7) is remarkably smart at translating your handwriting into text, so if you're faster at handwriting than you are at typing, using a stylus can be a time saver. (Writing has also been shown to help us learn and remember more than typing on a keyboard.)
One of the earliest criticisms about touch screen PCs is that programs and desktop windows are hard to use with touch. The close button, scrollbars, and other navigational elements are small and hard to accurately hit. Windows 8 has changed that to a big extent, with things like the Explorer ribbon creating a more touch-optimized interface in desktop mode and, of course, its new full screen apps. Desktop programs like Microsoft Office are even pretty touch-friendly. And with those that aren't, you can easily zoom in and use gestures to make working with a Windows 8 touch screen PC at least as easy as using a tablet (or you could use a stylus and tap very accurately on the screen).
Why You Might Not Want a Touch Screen on Your PC
All that said, a touch screen PC might not be for everyone. Some things you need to consider include:
More smears on your screen: Greasy, scummy smears are the bane of every smartphone and tablet user. It's no different when you're constantly touching a PC screen. Getting out the microfiber cloth more often is a hassle, but for most of us this alone isn't a deal-breaker.
The so-called Gorilla arm: Gorilla arm is a term describing the tired arms users get after reaching out and touching a screen for a long time. It's been cited by many as a reason why touch screens will not take over. Photo by Bob Familiar
If you're continually holding up your arm to point at a vertical display, sure that's going to hurt. However, the truth is you're probably not going to be perpetually holding up your arm. If you're using a touch screen desktop PC or monitor, you might tap and swipe, then switch to the keyboard and mouse, and back. Touch screen laptops and hybrid tablet/laptops (with screens that can detach from the keyboard or swivel into tablet mode) can be positioned closer and at angles that are more comfortable, which makes this whole "Gorilla arm" argument moot, as ZDNet's Ed Bott writes.
Added thickness: Touch screen panels are usually thicker than non-touch ones—especially if the touch panel has an active digitizer for pen support. CNN argues that the hybrid laptop/tablet will never work because of the size issue: "The Surface Pro is more than half an inch thick and weighs two pounds. That's fine for a laptop. For a tablet, it's borderline obese." The added thickness, however, is pretty negligible (a few millimeters, maybe) unless you need the absolute thinnest device possible. (Also, it's strange to hear complaints that a tablet which functions as a complete laptop replacement weighs two pounds and is a bit over a half an inch thick.)
Possibly shorter battery life: Touch screens require more power. Laptop Magazine compared a couple of touch screen laptops with their non-touch counterparts (same model and size) and found that the non-touch laptops lasted over an hour longer. This is definitely something to keep in mind if you need as much battery life as possible for your next laptop (check the battery life ratings for both the touch screen laptop and the non-touch model if available).
Cost: Finally, the biggest disadvantage of touch screen PCs is the added cost. Touch screen PCs cost more than their non-touch counterparts. The difference can be between $100 to $200, with pen-enabled touch screens costing the most.
Whether We Like It or Not, Touch Screen PCs Are Probably the Future
There's been a lot of backlash in the media about these newer touch screen PCs and how they're doomed to failure. However, most of that really isn't about touch as a user interface at all, but rather Windows 8 and the bad rap it's getting for it's radical interface redesign. Before Windows 8, people criticized tablet PCs (which have been around for over a decade) because they were thick and heavy and expensive. Those barriers are gone, though, with today's thinner, lightweight laptops.
Like it or not, touch screen PCs are becoming the new normal. Windows 8's new interface was developed primarily for touch. Intel has also changed its laptop partner requirements so that all future Ultrabooks (with Haswell processors) will have to sport a touch screen.
Keep in mind that the touch screen is really just another way to interact with your PC. You still have your keyboard and your mouse (or trackpad) when you want them and can use the touch screen as little or as much as you want. (After using a touch screen for a while, though, you may find yourself attempting to tap and swipe any non-touch displays you come into contact with.)
If the added cost of the touch screen and the possible battery life hit don't matter much to you, you don't have anything to lose—and you might very well enjoy that touch screen as much as you do the one on your tablet.
Sincerely,
Lifehacker
Have a question or suggestion for Ask Lifehacker? Send it to tips+asklh@lifehacker.com.