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Touch screen Laptop - Windows 10

  • 17-08-2015 09:17PM
    #1
    acon2119
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 144 ✭✭


    Hi
    I am trying to choose a new laptop at present, been badly struggling with my 6 year old laptop for a good while now.

    I have heard it said and it is implied in the ads for windows 10 that it would be hugely beneficial to have a touch screen laptop to get the best out of windows 10. All advice appreciated as I don't know much about it yet.

    Thank you in advance:):rolleyes::)


Comments

  • #2
    Bayberry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 707 ✭✭✭Bayberry


    acon2119 wrote: »
    Hi
    I am trying to choose a new laptop at present, been badly struggling with my 6 year old laptop for a good while now.

    I have heard it said and it is implied in the ads for windows 10 that it would be hugely beneficial to have a touch screen laptop to get the best out of windows 10. All advice appreciated as I don't know much about it yet.
    It's not "hugely beneficial" - Windows 10 itself is completely agnostic about touch screens, and will work just as well with or without a touch screen.

    But some applications can make use of a touch screen. Some games adapt well to use on a touch screen, some gestures, like pinch to zoom, are very natural for certain tasks, such as viewing photos, or navigating a mapping application. In some cases a mouse is better than fingers, in some cases fingers are better than a mouse.

    Personally, I wouldn't pay a huge premium for a touch screen. If exactly the same laptop with a touchscreen cost €30 more than without the touchscreen, I might go for for the touchscreen, but not of it cost €100 (though you never get that straight choice). If I was mainly going to use the laptop for "consumption" (photos, videos, web browsing), I might increase the premium a bit, if I was planning to write my novel on it, I wouldn't pay any premium at all (only to find out that this great touch-enabled app for organizing the layout and flow of a novel will be released next week :D ).

    Obviously, if you're looking at a 2-in-one or convertible type laptop, then a touchscreen makes much more sense, but again, if you want that format, it's probably because you've already decided that touch might be a good idea.


  • #3
    ED E
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 36,170 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    With convertables (Surface, Yoga, Duos/Flips, Inspiron/XPS) its definitely a big selling point. On a traditional laptop its rarely worth it.

    A big point worth noting is that a touch screen and touch screen with digitizer are very different. The surface and duos at least have them, which means you can pop open one note and take notes as if it were a refill pad, priceless feature for students and some professionals.

    As above, if its mainly for consumption, probably not worth the premium.


  • #4
    Bayberry
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 707 ✭✭✭Bayberry


    ED E wrote: »
    As above, if its mainly for consumption, probably not worth the premium.
    Consumption is reason that I would pay a premium! If you're the kind of person who can spend an hour zooming around in Google Earth then a touchscreen is a great addition to a laptop! (and the new 3D cities option in the Bing Maps app is pretty cool too). If you take lots of photos, and like to zoom in to some of them, pinch-to-zoom on a touch screen in a much more natural interface than anything that can be done with a mouse/trackpad/keyboard.

    Even without that, I'd pay a small premium - I'd hate to be locked out of some cool app or game in a year or two because I cheaped out on a €25 upgrade. But I wouldn't go €100. And I wouldn't turn down a good laptop, or a great price on a decent laptop, because it doesn't have a touch screen.

    I also wouldn't plan on keeping a laptop for 6 years any more. I'd budget for replacing it in two years (you can get a nice laptop for a euro a day spread over two years) and if it lasts for 4 years, then great. Even with that rule-of-thumb, I'm much more likely to buy a €500 laptop than a €700 laptop.


  • #5
    CatInABox
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators Posts: 10,841 Mod ✭✭✭✭CatInABox


    Personally speaking, I wouldn't get another laptop without a touchscreen. I can't even tell you what I mainly use it for either, just that when I sit down to work on some one else's laptop, I constantly find myself touching the screen to do some simple task, getting frustrated that it's not working, and then feeling foolish afterwards.


  • #6
    ED E
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 36,170 ✭✭✭✭ED E


    CatInABox wrote: »
    Personally speaking, I wouldn't get another laptop without a touchscreen. I can't even tell you what I mainly use it for either, just that when I sit down to work on some one else's laptop, I constantly find myself touching the screen to do some simple task, getting frustrated that it's not working, and then feeling foolish afterwards.

    That is a real thing. I do it so often. Sometimes even to my own desktop after using the road warrior for a few hours.

    When I mentioned consumption I meant YT, Netflix and reading the times. Browsing its nice, but the arrow keys are just as good and dont add a premium.


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