From the first time Steve Jobs demonstrated "the pinch" -- the two-finger gesture used to zoom in and out of photos and Web pages on the iPhone -- some Apple observers assumed it was just a matter of time before a multitouch-enabled screen showed up on the Mac.That hasn't happened yet. But now Hewlett-Packard has beaten Apple to the punch, announcing the first multitouch-enabled notebook PC, the tx2.
We are all wondering -- aren't we -- why Apple couldn't get this out to market first?
The tx2 is a convertible notebook, meaning its screen can pivot 180 degrees to show someone else what's on it or lie flat and act like a tablet PC.
The first convertible notebook aimed directly at consumers, the tx2 sports HP's version of multitouch technology, which lets you use two fingers at once to manipulate images on the screen or make on-screen gestures that signify specific commands.
A pinch motion works just like it does on an iPhone or MacBook, for example, letting you rotate pictures or press and drag files around.
Pricing? $1,150 or only $151 more than the starter MacBook.
More at BusinessWeek.
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That may be HP's first multitouch, but it's not THE first. Dell's had one for a while. In July they released firmware that made their Latitude XT multitouch: http://blog.laptopmag.com/exclusive-hands-on-with-dells-xt-tablet-now-with-multi-touch
wow...its cool...i like HP