Since retailers like Best Buy, Staples and Office Depot generally reserve shelf space for high-volume units I’m not entirely surprised at the lack of relatively expensive touch enabled PCs, but I am disappointed. I do like HP’s TouchSmart desktop and tablet, but I wish consumers are offered more options.

Most of the retail locations had an HP TouchSmart all-in-one on display. A few had the HP Pavilion TX2 convertible on display. And some stores, including a Best Buy location in Manhattan, didn’t have a single touch enabled PC on display.

Microsoft, and the entire industry for that matter, has put a lot of money and energy into promoting Windows 7′s touch capabilities.I can barely go a day without receiving a press release from a company announcing that it’s added touch or multi-touch to its computers. I think consumers actually need to experience the touch computing hands-on before they make the investment in a relatively expensive touch enabled machine.

Education is still a major hurdle to selling touch enabled PCs at retail. The in-store staff didn’t seem to know much about Windows 7′s touch features or HP’s touch applications. While GottaBeMobile readers are more than familiar with the benefits of touch computing, the average computer shopper has never considered paying extra for the feature.

Windows 7 everywhere, But Barely a Screen to Touch is a post by Xavier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Thanks for the heads up, Long.

HP Australia Giving Away TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PCs is a post by Rob Bushway from Gotta Be Mobile.

I shot a bunch of video and photos, which I’ll post later tonight, but one of the most exciting talks I’ve had so far was with MC Hammer. Yes, the “You Can’t Touch This” MC Hammer. He’s really into tech and especially into touch-enabled devices and tablets. On this trip he’s carrying an HP TouchSmart tx2 tablet, a pair of iPhone 3Gs and an T-mobile G1.

He told me that he’s been using tablets ‘since before they were good.’

Just last week I asked if it rappers and hip-hop could promote touch computing- I think we found our man!

Apparently Hammer ‘Can Touch This’ is a post by Xavier from Gotta Be Mobile.

Deal of the Day: $419 off HP TouchSmart tx2z and Printer Bundle is a post by Xavier from Gotta Be Mobile.

According to one of our readers, who also happens to be an Office Depot employee, HP’s TouchSmart TX2 Tablet PC will soon be making an appearance on the Office Depot shelves. In addition, the marketing folks have apparently been listening to our constant complaining about how Tablet PCs are displayed, because the display of the TX2 will allow the screen to be rotated and flipped – imagine that?

One other bit of news – our “Nerd Herd” buddy at Office Depot also says the display shelves has a spot for two Acer netbooks…

Office Depot to Carry HP’s TouchSmart TX2 Tablet PC is a post by Rob Bushway from Gotta Be Mobile.

Complete specs, pictures, press release, tx2 spec datasheet, picture of the notebook stand, and a description of supported gestures are all after the break. Be sure to check out this video demo, too. You can buy it from Amazon or direct from HP with a starting price of $1149. Once we get a review unit, you can be sure we’ll be testing Windows 7 on this baby.

Multi-Touch Gestures:

• SINGLE, DOUBLE TAP: Select objects by touching them once (single tap), or double tap to open objects/programs.
• FLICK: Scroll or pan within an application either horizontally or vertically. For example,
in MediaSmart Photo, flick your finger to the left on the display and the inertia from your flick will move the photos leftward, just as if you pushed a piece of paper to the left on a table.
• PRESS & DRAG: Touch an object on the display and hold and drag it to the desired
destination.
• ARC: Allows you to move tracks to/from playlists without having to make a straight line.
• PINCH: Touch an object on the display once to select the item then place 2 fingers on opposite corners of the object, then move them closer together to decrease the object’s size or to zoom out. Move fingers away from one another to enlarge the object or to zoom in.
• ROTATE: Rotate photos by touching the object once to select the item then use 2 fingers on opposite corners of the image and rotate the image either clockwise or counter-clockwise.
• LAUNCH MEDIASMART: Touch the screen with two fingers together and write the letter m on the display to launch the MediaSmart Smart Menu.

Specs:

• AMD Athlonâ„¢ X2 Dual-Core Processor QL-64 (2.0 — 2.4 GHz, 1MB — 2 MB L2 Cache)
• Genuine Windows Vista ® Ultimate, Business, or Home Premium
• 12.1-inch diagonal WXGA (1280 x 800), Integrated touch-screen, Convertible display
• ATI Radeon™ HD 3200(9) available
• Up to 8GB DDR2 SDRAM System Memory (2 SODIMM; 64-bit OS)
• 160/250/320/400G/500B(8) 5400 rpm SATA
• SuperMulti 8X DVD ±R/RW with Double Layer Support OR,
LightScribe SuperMulti 8X DVD ±RW with Double Layer Support
• 802.11b/g WLAN OR, 802.11b/g WLAN and Bluetooth OR, Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN OR,Wireless 802.11a/b/g/n with Bluetooth
• Ports: 3 USB 2.0, 1 VGA, 1 RJ-11, 1 RJ-45, 2 headphone out ( 1 with SPDIF & 1 Stereo), 1 mic, 1 expansion port 3, 1 IR, 1 digital pen, 1 ExpressCard 34 slot
• Weight: starts at 4.33 lbs with touchscreen, digitizer, weightsaver, 4 cell battery)
• Dimensions: 12.05 in (L) x 8.82 in (W) x 1.23 in ( min H / 1.52 in (max H) ( with 4-cell battery)
• Battery: 4-cell (37 WHr), 6-cell (55 WHr), 8-cell (73 WHr)

Pictures

Click to view higher res shots.

	tx series notebook stand, $49

Press release:

In an effort to provide consumers with rich content through the Internet, HP has expanded its partnership with MTV Networks (MTVN) by offering video content from 10 television channels and online brands within MediaSmart’s TV module.

Beginning in December, users can enjoy all the best content from Nickelodeon, the No. 1 entertainment brand for kids; MTV, the premier destination for music and youth culture programming; and COMEDY CENTRAL, the only all-comedy network and the No. 1 network in primetime for men ages 18 to 24. MTVN also plans to make content from Atom, CMT, GameTrailers, Logo, Spike, The N and VH1 available within MediaSmart’s TV module.

The MediaSmart software was first brought to HP HDX notebook PCs in September, using the interface first popularized on HP TouchSmart PCs. HP plans to include the software in the tx2 and all future HP consumer notebook PCs.

Powered by the AMD Turionâ„¢ X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor or AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core Mobile Processor⁽³⁾ and built on Windows ® Vista Home Premium, the tx2 will be made available worldwide in an array of configure-to-order options.

Additional features, accessories and service
The HP TouchSmart tx2 series is ENERGY STAR ® qualified and EPEATâ„¢ Silver registered. Mercury-free LED display panels are included on the tx2 as part of HP’s ongoing commitment to reduce its impact on the environment.

The HP tx Series Notebook Stand elevates the tx2, enhancing its usability while stationary, including making it possible to put the PC in an upright position for full interactivity with the touch screen.

HP Webcam with Integrated Microphones allows users to see brighter, cleaner images when chatting over an Internet⁽¹⁾ connection.

The tx2 offers access to a variety of self-help tools built in and online. It also is supported by HP Total Care, which enables consumers to reach support agents 24/7 by phone, email or real-time chat.

Pricing and availability
The HP TouchSmart tx2 is available for ordering today in the United States at www.hpdirect.com with a starting U.S. price of $1,149. ⁽⁴⁾ More information about the tx2 is available at www.hp.com/go/touchsmarttx2.

About HP
HP, the world’s largest technology company, provides printing and personal computing products and IT services, software and solutions that simplify the technology experience for consumers and businesses. HP completed its acquisition of EDS on Aug. 26, 2008. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

Note to editors: More news from HP, including links to RSS feeds, is available at http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/.

⁽¹⁾ Internet access is required and sold separately.
⁽²⁾ HD content required to view HD images.
⁽³⁾ AMD’s numbering is not a measurement of clock speed. This system requires a separately purchased 64-bit operating system and 64-bit software products to take advantage of the 64-bit processing capabilities of AMD technology. Dual/quad/triple-core processing available with AMD technology is designed to improve performance of this system. Given the wide range of software applications available, performance of a system including a 64-bit operating system and a dual-core processor will vary.
⁽⁴⁾ Estimated U.S. starting price. Actual price may vary.

HP Announces the TouchSmart tx2 Multi-Touch Tablet PC is a post by Rob Bushway from Gotta Be Mobile.