Lenovo adds multitouch to ThinkPads

Stephen Withers
Tuesday, 15 September 2009 10:21

Your IT - Home IT

Lenovo has boosted the specs of two members of its ThinkPad range to include multitouch screens. One is a tablet, the other is a regular notebook model.

Multitouch technology has been added to Lenovo's ThinkPad X200 and T400s.

The X200 tablet PC now comes with an optional touchscreen that allows two-finger operation (versus the one-finger support on the standard screen), while the capacitative touchscreen on the T400s supports four-finger multitouch.

How useful this is really depends on application and operating system level support, but some functions are available out of the box.

For example, Lenovo's SimpleTap software provides touch access to hardware controls (eg volume adjustment or Wi-Fi on/off) and other functions.

It works by diving the screen into a grid. A double-tap opens SimpleTap, and then touching a tile activates the associated function. Users can create custom tiles for particular functions, such as opening applications or web pages.

A single tap closes SimpleTap.

Lenovo officials claim that the touchscreen firmware automatically compensates for slightly imprecise taps (eg when closing windows or using the Start menu) and that an anti-fingerprint coating keeps the screen smudge-free.

"We see now as the right time for multitouch screens on PCs," said Chris Kelly, product and marketing director, Lenovo Australia, New Zealand.

"With touch screens increasingly becoming part of more devices we use routinely and continued improvement of the technology, including the integration of touch in the upcoming Windows 7 operating system, the environment for making touch part of our tablet PC and ThinkPad T400s laptop experience couldn't be better. We've also extended the touch experience with Simple Tap to make frequent hardware-based functions touch-enabled and simple," Kelly added.

A new option for the X200 is a low-reflection, super-bright display intended for outdoor use.

The T400s and new X200 variants are available immediately. Prices start at $A2891 for the multitouch T400s, $A3215 for the multitouch X200, and $A3039 for the X200 with outdoor screen.

SimpleTap will be available soon for download from Lenovo's web site.