There’s no question that the vast majority of people already know what a Touch Tablet PC is: a sort of notebook with a screen that allows for touch input from the user and there are two big variations: ones without a keyboard and some with 180 degrees pivoting screen. Now that the financial crysis has effects all over the place it’s the best time to ask yourself: why would I need  a Tablet PC and is it worth the price difference from a regular laptop?

    In this post I’ll try and make a short list with the main things a Tablet PC is useful for so that you can compare it with your personal needs and see if you need one or not. This way you could save a few bucks if your needs can be covered by a simple portable computer with no fancy touchscreen.

    Touch tablet: exotic and expensive

    Touch tablet: exotic and expensive

    So, without further rumbling, here’s the list:

    • Natural interaction with the operating system:  we’re more acustomed to use our hands that typing and moving a mouse so touch input systems for users are the natural way to interact with a computer
    • Drawing: have you ever tried to draw using your mouse cursor? It’s at least annoying, but designers have always used graphic tablet where you could draw with the pen. Touch screen interfaces promise this kind of interactivity with any screen and may increase productivity in programs like Adobe Photoshop. All you need is a steady hand and a good eye (the latter being the most important)
    • Taking notes: imagine you’re in a meeting and there are things to write down, sketches to draw and annotations to be made. If you have a normal computer and Word opened in front of you is way more difficult to note things down that using a single pen and paper (digital versions of course) and put everything for good use. You can then digitally replicate all this data and send it to persons who could not attend the meetings
    • Web browsing: it’s hard to describe the pleasure of using a touch tablet or convertible tablet while siting on a couch and browsing the web with your fingers. It’s the sense of natural that can’t be achieved by a laptop no matter how small or powerful it is. You have to try and to understand what I’m talking about.

    I know this is a short list but it shows a handful of ways a Touch tablet can help you in ways a laptop/notebook never can. It’s now up to you to decide if you need it or not but 2010 promises to be an interesting year. If I missed something feel free to correct me.