Multi-touch

ASUS has touted the multi-touch trackpads of its Eee PCs, but every time I have gone to test the multi-touch controls on the pad I can’t do much more than zoom in on a picture by pinching the pad. I are happy to report that finally Eee PC users are able to do more with their fingers.

Its nothing like the N-Trig multi-touch drivers for the Dell XT, but ElanTech, the company responsible for the smartpad on the Eee PCs, has updated the drivers for the touchpad to enable more multi-touch gestures (you can find the drivers here). Thanks to JKKMobile for tipping us off on the new drivers.

I downloaded the drivers to the Eee PC 1000H running Windows Vista and they worked right away (they should work for XP as well; there is no Linux driver version). In the mouse properties window, an extra ElanTech tab allows for tweaking the different multi-touch gestures.

I was then able to create commands that go along with different gestures. For instance, I configured a  two finger tap on the trackpad to launch Firefox. Swiping three fingers down will bring up an ALT+Tab command that allows for moving through windows. Swiping three fingers up will launch My Computer.

Read the rest of this entry »

We knew Dell was planning on updating its first-ever tablet—the Dell XT—with multi-touch capabilities from N-Trig, and now the wait is over. Though many were under the impression that we would have to wait until Windows 7 for multi-touch on a laptop, N-Trig and Dell today released the multi-touch firmware update for the Vista running XT. Over the last few weeks, I have been trying out the new multi-touch capabilities and can confidently say that it sure beats the multi-touch trackpads of the Eee PCs and the MacBook Air.

Check out the updated full review of the Dell XT for our impressions of the multi-touch capabilities. To see it in action, check out our video below.

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, I know we’re LAPTOP, but when I saw the new HP TouchSmart All-in-One, I had to make an exception to our “no desktops allowed” rule. The 22-inch computer has a multi-touch screen that’s as addictive as it is intuitive. For starters, it works seamlessly in the Vista interface, so you can use your finger to move windows and other onscreen items.

But the real fun begins when you press the home button, located on the lower right hand corner of the bezel. Pressing this button launches a touch-optimized media center, filled with widgets for photo, music, games, and news and weather updates, among other things. Although the technology has its limits– you can’t pinch photos to zoom in and out, as you can with the iPhone– you can use your fingers to scroll through apps, photos, and album covers and decide how you want to crop pictures.

Read the rest of this entry »