Touch interfaces are clearly becoming daily routine more and more each day, so it’s no wonder that there are a lot of touch enabled gadgets surrounding us: touch laptops, touch tablets, touch smartphones and even touch screen monitors. It’s not something I didn’t foresee coming, especially since Windows 7 offers native touch screen support. All you need at this point is a touch enabled device, and a touch screen monitor can be a nice addition to a desktop where kids are playing or when you find yourself needing to do some work implying touch commands.

    For most of us this is a caprice, but for some of the users out there a touch screen monitor is a necessity, or at least an appealing gadget because, let’s face it, sometimes is easier to use your fingers than a keyboard and mouse. In this post I’m going to present you a few touchscreen monitor options you can further check out and buy, plus I’m going to show you how you can convert your regular monitor into a touchscreen one (more info on the bottom of this post).

    Acer T231H – 309$

    The Acer T230H is one of the largest touch screen monitors available right now (23 inch diagonal), featuring multi touch capabilities and complete Windows 7 compatibility, so you don’t have to worry about any kind of software problems. People who bought the Acer T230H say it works perfectly with desktops and laptops and there are no issues with touch recognition in the corners of the screen (like it happens sometimes with touch enabled displays). Let’s see what you get for a little over 300$:

    • 23 inch 1920 x 1080 pixels TN LCD panel
    • 2 ms (Grey-to-Grey) response time
    • height, swivel, tilt adjustments
    • HDMI, DVI-D, VGA ports
    • contrast ratio 80000:1 (dynamic)
    • maximum brightness 300 cd/m2
    • 160 degrees horizontal and vertical viewing angles
    • 35.5 Watt power consumption
    Acer T230H multi touch

    Acer T230H multi touch

    Viewsonic VX2258WM – 319$

    Let’s continue with a 22 inch multi-touch screen monitor, also with Full HD resolution. The look is just as professional as on the Acer model, but it’s a little bit smaller, which makes it perfect for small offices. Sadly it doesn’t feature too many adjustment options, so you’re limited to tilt down 3º, up 20º and swivel: 60º (center to side: left 30º, right 30º). But there’s always the option of a wall mount which you can use to put the Viewsonic 21.5 multi touch screen on an adjustable arm. From there the imagination is your only limit.

    As features is concerned, the Viewsonic VX2258WM is more than capable by today’s standards, so here’s a quick look at specs:

    • 21.5″ Wide Color TFT Active Matrix LCD
    • 1920×1080 WUXGA resolution
    • Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 static; 100,000:1 dynamic
    • Viewing Angles: 170º horizontal, 160º vertical @ 10:1 contrast ratio
    • 5ms response time
    • Brightness: 200 cd/m2
    • Output ports: DVI-D, D-Sub 15 pins, 3.5mm audio in / 3.5mm audio out
    • Extra: 2x2W with SRS Premium Sound
    Viewsonic VX2258WM

    Viewsonic VX2258WM

    HP Compaq L2105TM – 229$

    HP Compay L2105TM is your typical 22 inch LCD monitor (21.5 inches to be exact) that was fitted with a performance LCD layer, capable of sensing multiple points of contact, allowing you to easily rotate position, shrink and enlarge your documents or navigate media rich 3D content. You can either use your fingers (the screen will get messy in time) or the included stylus. Choice is yours to make. Just like the Dell SX2210T, the HP Compaq L2105TM features optical multi touch technology that detects user interaction via two CMOS sensors placed on the bezel of the display. You just have to get your fingers close enough from the screen and the monitor knows where you’re pointing. This works without actually touching the screen, but you don’t really have to.

    • 21.5″ diagonal LCD TFT Screen with 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution with optical multi touch
    • 5 ms response time
    • 250 cd/m² brightness
    • 1000:1 contrast ratio
    • 170° Horizontal and 160° Vertical viewing angles
    • Analog VGA + DVI-D connectors
    • 35W typical power consumption, <2W standby mode
    HP Compaq L2105TM

    HP Compaq L2105TM

    Planar PX2230MW – 249$

    This is a monitor from a brand that’s not that popular. This doesn’t mean Planar PX2230MW is not worth considering. What we have here is a classic 22 inch Full HD monitor with integrated speakers and multi touch support out of the box. It’s interesting to note that the stand of the monitor is made from two pieces, so we some kind of tripod mount. The only adjustment option for Planar PX2230MW is tilt, but this is hardly an issue. Here are the most important specs:

    • 21.5″ diagonal LCD TFT Screen with Full HD resolution, multi touch enabled
    • 5 ms response time
    • tilt adjustment
    • Analog VGA + DVI-D connectors
    • integrated speakers 2 x 1 Watt
    • 1000:1 contrast ratio
    • 300 cd/m² brightness
    • less than 48 Watts power consumption
    • 170° Horizontal and 160° Vertical viewing angles
    Planar PX2230MW

    Planar PX2230MW

    How to convert a regular monitor to a touch screen monitor

    Yes, there is also the cheaper option of getting a touch conversion kit for your desktop monitor. It’s cheaper, hassle free to install, but has one drawback: the WinTouch  Touch Screen Kit is only compatible with up to 18.5 diagonal inch monitors, so this means it’s only an option for older monitors. For 129$, the price you have to pay for WinTouch Touch Screen Kit you get a kit that’s connected via USB 2.0 to any PC and voila, you have a touch monitor. In the kit is an included stylus but WinTouch also recognizes finger inputs. The product is compatible with WIN 7, Vista, Win XP, Win 2000.

    Current offer is limited

    It’s easy to see that current offer is pretty limited, but there are a few good deals worth considering. If you know of any other touch screen monitor deal let me know so I can update this post.

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