Samsung today unveiled the Series 7 and Series 5 computers which are all-in-one PCs running Windows 8 with a touch-screen and gesture recognition. The Series 7 will be available in 23" and 27" versions, both of which utilize a 1080p touchscreen. It includes a small keyboard, which can be tucked under the display's metal stand saving on desk space. The 23" Series 7 runs a Core i5 CPU with 6GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and Intel Graphics 4000. Price: $1,099. The 27" model offers a Core i7 processor, 8GB of RAM, 1TB of storage and discrete AMD Radeon HD 7850M graphics. Price: $1,699.

Interesting how all-in-ones never were that popular in the Windows world (Mac world is a different story) but with the popularity of tablets the all-in-one seems to be making a comeback. I was never a fan of all-in-ones because they were often impossible to upgrade or even repair, so if one component went, you were left with a useless brick. However, having a touch-enabled desktop PC all-in-one device has some interesting possibilities. One of which, I recently explained in my Microsoft Surface = Threat to IP Phone Market article where I posited that an all-in-one tablet running Windows 8 could also be your desk phone making it truly a universal communicator.

I'm skeptical touch-screen or gestures is needed on your desktop PC, however if the all-in-one device has a battery pack so that it's portable then it makes sense. Of course, carrying a 23" or 27" Series 7 all-in-one device is not happening - it's too heavy. A better solution would be something like the Microsoft Surface which is smaller, lighter, and can be docked to a larger computer screen if you want.

In addition to the new Series 7 machines, Samsung unveiled the 21.5" Series 5 all-in-one, which Samsung calls a "kitchen-style PC" due to its smaller screen (footprint) and like the Series 7 you can tuck the keyboard and mouse under the display to save on counter space. The Series 5 will go on sale for $749, and includes a Core i3 processor, 4GB of RAM and 500GB of storage. All three all-in-one models have two USB 3.0 ports, three USB 2.0 connections, HDMI and a media card reader. All models will go on sale October 26th, which not so-coincidentally is when Windows 8 launches.