Acer Announces Touchscreen Notebook

Charles P. Jefferies · 10-14-2009, 05:21 PM

Acer Announces Touchscreen Notebook

Acer today announced its first touchscreen notebook, the Aspire 5738PG. It will launch with Windows 7 on 22 October for $799.99. The 5738PG has the following specifications:

15.6-inch widescreen display with multi-touch support (1366x768 resolution)
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 (2.2GHz/2MB L2/800MHz FSB)
ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4570 graphics with 512MB DDR3 VRAM
4GB DDR2-667
320GB hard drive
8X DVD Super-multi drive
Intel 5100 N wireless
6-cell battery
Weight: 6.16 lbs

Acer Press Release (BusinessWire.com)

Serg · 10-14-2009, 07:03 PM

Nice thing to come.
Interesting enough, Toshiba did the same...and so did HP, and...wait...do you see a pattern here?

MGS2392 · 10-14-2009, 07:51 PM

Probably in anticipation of W7's improved touch support.

Charles P. Jefferies · 10-14-2009, 08:44 PM

I question the usefulness of touch screens on standard notebooks. I used to own a tablet PC and tried using touch to navigate, but found all too often that it was faster and easier to use the mouse. Also, I found that accuracy was a problem (maybe that's because I had a 12" screen with a 1400x1050 res).

Furthermore, I wonder what kind of strength/resistance enhancements were made to the display hinge to keep it steady while touching it. I know if I reached out and touched the display on my notebook it wouldn't stay still enough to keep touching it with any level of accuracy.

Greg Ross · 10-14-2009, 08:46 PM

The resolution is a dealbreaker though. Seriously...who the heck only offers 1366x768 on a 15.6" screen. I really hope this does not become the only resolution available on laptops that are not 17" monsters.

Charles P. Jefferies · 10-14-2009, 08:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Ross

The resolution is a dealbreaker though. Seriously...who the heck only offers 1366x768 on a 15.6" screen. I really hope this does not become the only resolution available on laptops that are not 17" monsters.

I agree with you, but a lower resolution might be necessary on a touchscreen notebook to maintain accuracy while using the touch functionality.

cy007 · 10-14-2009, 09:50 PM

At first I wasn't so sure because it's an Acer (with their uninspired <200-nit screens), but then I noticed the $799 pricetag.

Really? Isn't that a little cheap for a touch-screen? With Radeon 4570 graphics at that?

mrXniick · 10-15-2009, 03:30 AM

Nice specs for the price, but I agree with Chaz that touch screens on full sized laptops does not seem all that useful.

cy007 · 10-15-2009, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrXniick

Nice specs for the price, but I agree with Chaz that touch screens on full sized laptops does not seem all that useful.

But remember, notebooks with similar specs sell for just as much anyway. Touchscreen comes at almost no additional cost for this model.

edit: Happy now Serg?

Serg · 10-15-2009, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Charles P. Jefferies

I question the usefulness of touch screens on standard notebooks. I used to own a tablet PC and tried using touch to navigate, but found all too often that it was faster and easier to use the mouse. Also, I found that accuracy was a problem (maybe that's because I had a 12" screen with a 1400x1050 res).

Furthermore, I wonder what kind of strength/resistance enhancements were made to the display hinge to keep it steady while touching it. I know if I reached out and touched the display on my notebook it wouldn't stay still enough to keep touching it with any level of accuracy.

Yeah, me too. At least I am used an prefer to use a touchpad instead of touching the screen, it feels more "natural" to me...lol and the fingerprints on those glossy panels must be terrible!

And the hinges must be impressive to withstand the pressure of multi-touch, at that price, I wonder how much they will hold before the display starts to wiggle...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greg Ross

The resolution is a dealbreaker though. Seriously...who the heck only offers 1366x768 on a 15.6" screen. I really hope this does not become the only resolution available on laptops that are not 17" monsters.

Asus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cy007

At first I wasn't so sure because it's an Acer (with their uninspired <200-nit screens), but then I noticed the $799 pricetag.

Really? Isn't that a little cheap for a touch-screen? With Radeon 4570 graphics at that?

Indeed, considering that the T400s adds like 300+ for the functionality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cy007

But remember, notebooks with similar specs sell for just as much anyway. Touchscreen comes at almost no additional cost.

T400s, X200 Tablet. It is a premium (at least for Lenovo)