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Apple Planning 22-Inch Touchscreen iMac for Later This Year?

I've played around with some of the HP TouchSmart desktops, and came to the conclusion that a touchscreen desktop is little more than a gimmick as the concept now stands.

Pros: viewing photos becomes very intuitive (especially rotate/zoom) and kids love the hands-on feel.

Cons: I'm not too keen on holding my hands up to the screen for too long, especially for text entry; it wasn't very ergonomic. (As Lesser Evets has mentioned, there would have to be a design shift to touch-friendly levels-- which means eliminating the "iMac chin".) Precision work like Photoshop and sniping in FPS games seem better suited for off-screen controllers. And of course, keeping the screen clean would be a chore.

Maybe Apple can come up with a "killer app" for large-scale touchscreen. Who knows? Maybe one day, we'll all be like the weather reporters on CNN. :)

EDIT: To Ed91: LMAO! :D
 
donster28 said:
Whoa, I didn't see this one coming from right field but engadget.com has a post about this. There's also a possibility it'll get annouced nest week.

I was attracted the HP Touchsmart during the holidays, but this really puts a different perspective on things. I think I'll hold a little further on the purchase of my i5. :)
Click to expand...

Personally, I have never seen why anyone would want a touch screen desktop computer (totally get it for a handheld portable) but I'm open to be proven that there is some advantage. Also, wouldn't we constantly be having to clean our "lovely" glossy screens?
 
Oh! Sounds very nice, although it may seem a little chessy for me, but I can see Apple stepping up its game on this. Not now, already,.. But in the next year or so. I can already get a picture of what it may look like! :)

I got a question, if you can put as many computing features on a laptop, with wi-fi, etc.. (On a macbook pro.) then why can't the iMac be much slimmer and still have all those same features? It'll also go for all those other computers with 4gb memory and stuff..
 
It could be interesting for simple tasks, such as swiping to switch spaces, or moving windows and stuff like that, but not for all the other stuff that you can comfortably do with the standard keyboard and mouse already...

I really hope that if this is true, Apple will have a rock solid solution for finder prints, because I seriously hate that I already have to clean my MacBook Pro's screen from the keyboard grease marks after each time I close it.
 
dXTC said:
I've played around with some of the HP TouchSmart desktops, and came to the conclusion that a touchscreen desktop is little more than a gimmick as the concept now stands.
Click to expand...

I messed around with the HP models at the store, and I thought the same. I don't think they are worth the price. It would be ideal for a specific task. Maybe someone that is in some sort of business that deals with viewing many photos.
 
jtgotsjets said:
this seems like page 2 stuff.
Click to expand...
I agree. If Apple wanted to bolt a touchscreen onto a Mac, they could’ve done it long ago. The entire UI is designed around fast typing and small-target pointing. Apple could make some modifications to bundled applications to make it more useful, but for most of the huge library of third-party apps, it’d be pointless. If they’re going to make Mac OS X touchable, it’ll be in a big update to the OS.
 
Ed91 said:
Screen-Cleaning-Technology.jpg


You saw it here first.
Click to expand...

Brilliant! :D
 
ahahah

DipDog3 said:
Editor: "Our traffic is down, what can we do to boost traffic?"
Writer: "How about a baseless Apple rumor?"
Editor: "Sounds great, be sure to include high traffic keywords like Touch"
Lawyer: "We can't just make up stuff, we'll get sued."
Writer: "We'll base our story on a bad translation of a foreign language site?"
Editor: "Yea, use that same one we used last time, Communist Times."
Writer: "China Commercial Times?"
Editor: "Yea, whatever"
Click to expand...

Too funny.


Regarding a touchscreen Imac... I doubt it. I am sitting at my 24" right now and cannot even imagine wanting to do anything with touchscreen that would not be easier and faster to do with a mouse.

Touchscreen Macbook or Macbook Pro though? THAT I might be interested in.
 
I highly doubt this rumor. I think Jonathan Ive knows that it makes no sense to have a touchscreen monitor. A mouse does just fine.
 
The only way I could see using this would be if the computer laid down on your desk instead of sitting up in the air in front of you... perhaps angled up at about 15 degrees up from the desk surface... with the keyboard right below it.
 
Think different!!!!!!!

People who complain about having to extend your arms to use the touch iMac, or neck hurting, or smudges, or whatever (if it's actually made) NEED to think different. Don't you know Apple know this? They are the people who came up with intuitive designs that made you love the Mac OS X, iPhone, iPod, etc.... you know!

Unlike other company, Apple designers doesn't just "hey, let's make a touch iMac. They will actually sit down and "design" it before sending it to the assembly line. Just like they won't put OS X or the iPhone OS into the tablet and call it a day.

Geezzzzz!
 
Fail

This is a terrible idea. Touchscreen is a great idea for small devices like phones, media players, tablets and remote controls. It is a terrible idea for a desktop computer. Imagine how tired your arm would get having to continually reach up to the screen? Also, you would have fingerprints all over your screen and have to clean it all the time while continually washing your hands.

This input method would not have any advantages over a good keyboard-mouse combination other then an initial wow factor that will get old quick.

It's impractical and my guess is if they actually do this it will be a feature people pay for and rarely use. Of course knowing how Steve Jobs hates buttons might this be a replacement for a standard mouse? I hope not!

With all that said I doubt this rumor is true. It just doesn't make much sense.
 
lightpeak said:
Windows 7 touch screen capibility:
http://cnettv.cnet.com/touch-screen-features-windows-7/9742-1_53-50074521.html

Don't you just LOVE the cutting-edge techonlogy on [strike through]Windows[/strike through] Mac?
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what you're trying to get at there (and with your previous post), other than trying to bait other members like you usually do.

Touchscreens on home computers haven't been done very well at all up to this point. Perhaps someone can come along and do it right. I just don't see it happening with the current way it's being done. It's gimmicky and very un-ergonmic.
 
alexhasfun28 said:
I got a question, if you can put as many computing features on a laptop, with wi-fi, etc.. (On a macbook pro.) then why can't the iMac be much slimmer and still have all those same features? It'll also go for all those other computers with 4gb memory and stuff..
Click to expand...

It would be possible, but it would be way to expensive for a desktop computer. The iMac has more powerful processors and a bigger screen, and that all generates more heat, therefore, the casing has to be bigger to allow the components to be spaced further away from each other so they don't overheat. The MacBook Air is way more expensive than a simple MacBook, although it has less computing power. This is because of all the manufacturing tricks involved to make it only a few millimetres thinner. The same applies for the iMac, and basically everything else (phones, cars, etc...).
 
Stop whining. This is an additional, optional input method. Nobody is eliminating the mouse and keyboard.
 
*LTD* said:
Unless they figure out a way to implement it correctly.
Click to expand...

The only way it would work comfortably is if they made it a 22" monitor that could sit flat on a countertop and then you stand over it to operate it. Spending hours reaching up to a screen to operate a computer would get old real quick.

cube said:
Stop whining. This is an additional, optional input method. Nobody is eliminating the mouse and keyboard.
Click to expand...

How do we know it won't replace the mouse and keyboard? Remember Apple hates buttons.

Your probably right, but we won't know until if and when it is introduced.
 
*LTD* said:
I'm not sure what you're trying to get at there (and with your previous post), other than trying to bait other members like you usually do.

Touchscreens on home computers haven't been done very well at all up to this point. Perhaps someone can come along and do it right. I just don't see it happening with the current way it's being done. It's gimmicky and very un-ergonmic.
Click to expand...

The words of a true fanboy. Nothing of value ever exists until it's done by Apple.

I can give credit to Apple for revolutionizing the smart MP3 player and the smartphone. Why is it always a one-way street w/ Apple diehards?
 
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