So you have installed Windows 7 and every time you look at your system properties you read the line that says “No Pen or Touch Input is available for this Display“. That’s Microsoft’s way to tell you that your laptop isn’t qualified for touch input. Basically you’re stuck with the keyboard and mouse.

    And that’s a shame considering all mobile devices these days have some sort of touch interface. Of course you can get a convertible netbook tablet (way cheaper than a convertible tablet laptop like the Lenovo X201t – see best netbook tablets here), but if you like fully fledged laptops and would love to try touch input there’s always the middle option of getting a touch screen laptop.

    Unfortunately touch screen laptops are rare these days. That’s because people don’t know about them or prefer a regular touch (slate or convertible) tablet. If you’re one of the few people in search for a touch screen laptop you got the right article here, as I’ll try and present you with the (few) options you have right now. Of course I’ll update this article once new models appear, so it might be a good idea to subscribe to All Touch Tablet.

    HP dv6z Select Edition – 1199$

    HP is pretty active lately in bringing solid products to market, and the dv6z Select Edition is no different, featuring a full aluminum body, a quad-core AMD Phenom II CPU and a gorgeous 15.6 inch LED multi touch display. As construction goes you don’t have anything bad to say about the Pavilion dv6z: it’s built like a tank and manages to be also pretty stylish in our opinion. Here’s the complete list of specs of the HP Pavilion dv6z laptop with touchscreen display.

    • AMD Phenom(TM) II Quad-Core Mobile Processor N930 (2.0GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)
    • 6GB DDR3 System Memory (2 Dimm)
    • 640GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
    • 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon(TM) HD 5470 switchable graphics
    • LightScribe SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
    • Webcam, HDMI and VGA outputs
    • Wireless 802.11b/g/n Card
    • 15.6″ diagonal High Definition LED HP Brightview Display (1366×768) TouchScreen with HP TouchSmart’s intuitive multi-touch applications
    • Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
    HP Pavilion dv6z

    HP Pavilion dv6z

    Acer Iconia dual touchscreen – 1199$

    Do you want a touch screen laptop? What about an all touch screen, as the Acer Iconia is world’s first dual 14 inch touch screen laptop. Read on the quick specs and then head on to the features presentation:

    • Dual Multi-Touch Screens: 14″ HD Widescreen CineCrystal™ LED-backlit LCDs with Tempered Gorilla Glass
    • Intel® Core™ i5-480M Processor 2.66GHz
    • 4GB DDR3 Dual-Channel Memory
    • 640GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
    • Intel® HD Graphics
    • 802.11b/g/n, Gigabit LAN
    • 2 – USB 2.0 Ports & 1 – USB 3.0 Port
    • 1.3 Megapixel HD Webcam (1280 x 1024 resolution)
    • 4-Cell Lithium-Ion (3000 mAh)
    • 6.18 lbs. | 2.8 kg. (system unit only)
    • Windows® 7 Home Premium 64 bit
    Acer Iconia

    Acer Iconia

    As you can see the Acer Iconia dual screen laptop is pretty powerful, but lacks a little bit in the battery department. That’s something Acer couldn’t change because of the two displays that draw enough power to kill even a  9-cell battery in record time. Worth noticing is the fact you can use both displays to work since apps can be opened and moved between screens easily. With the Acer Iconia you get a multi-display workspace in a little bit over 6 pounds package. That’s something unique right now and makes the Acer Iconia an innovative product.

    Toshiba Satellite U505 – 1399$

    This is one of the cheapest laptops you can get with touch screen enabled display. It’s also one of the smallest, at 13.3 inches, making for the perfect balance between mobility, size, battery life and performance. And speaking of performance, the Toshiba Satellite U505 features a 2.26 GHz Intel Core i3-350M dual-core processor capable of running four simultaneous threads via HyperThreading. It’s one of the most capable CPUs these days that can be purchased for a small notebook.

    Other specs include 4 GB RAM, Intel HD grahics (integrated on the CPU), Windows 7 OS, a 500 GB hard drive, DVD SuperMulti drive with Labelflash® supporting 11 formats and a battery that will last you around 3.5 hours. If you want a good laptop (think of the Toshiba brand) and care for the touchscreen then why wasting money around, as the Satellite U505 comes for under 800 bucks.

    Toshiba Satellite U505

    Toshiba Satellite U505

    What’s next?

    Only time will tell, but I bet many other manufacturers will launch touch screen laptops soon, as the trend clearly points towards touch interfaces. In the meanwhile I recommend you take a look at my previous articles about: convertible netbooks (or netvertibles as they are called), HP Touchsmart TM2 or Acer Aspire 1825PT/PTZ convertible laptops.