HP has revamped its touchscreen all-in-one desktop PCs with the ability to lay them almost flat, tablet style. The new TouchSmart 610, announced today but not set to ship until later this week, is built around a 23in, 1920 x 1080 display. Usually mounted up right, monitor fashion, the new TouchSmart can also "recline from …

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Monday 7th February 2011 16:11 GMT jerry 4

Touchscreen Gorilla Arms are nothing new

Steve Jobs said that?

I learned about Touchscreen Gorilla Arms in the 70s.

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Monday 7th February 2011 16:11 GMT Cameron Colley

"Increased comfort"?

What. by making the user hunch over even more than they would using a conventional PC? By making the angle of the screen such that ceiling lighting reflects off it better? By taking up more room on the desktop, so making the keyboard harder to get to and use?

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1. Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT Matt Bryant
  
  RE: "Increased comfort"?
  
  Have to agree with Mr Colley, I don't see the point in making it easier to type on the screen if you also make it much harder to sit for a long time reading the screen. Was it designed for wannabe Quasimodos? But then a much simpler option has already been developed and used by hp in their old tablet designs - a touchscreen that can used as a PC with a keyboard, and then detached from the keyboard and used as a tablet. Or why not go Nintendo DS style - split screen that folds so you can have the viewing bit upright and a touchscreen "pad" in the lower half, with the ability to attach a mouse and/or keyboard by USB? Why hp thought they had to put in the swivel-to-near-horizontal is beyond me unless it's expressly for use with art programs, and then I'd worry about the effect of resting the writing/drawing hand on the screen? Have to think this one came from the marketting department rather than the engineers.
  
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Monday 7th February 2011 16:55 GMT maclovinz

Ahhh, patents....

Stifling innovation for every man!!! (or woman)

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1. Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT The BigYin
  
  When is soemone...
  
  ...going to stop the US patent office from publishing these stupid, stupid patents?
  
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2. Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT Ammaross Danan
  
  Patents
  
  Surely, if HP is already pushing product demos, they've been working on this long before the Jobisan 2009 patent application. If it gets granted, HP should definately challenge it (assuming they didn't just read Apple's patent and decide to beat them to it).
  
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Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT Anonymous Coward

disgusting

It’s disgusting to the point of offensive that anyone could consider a patent application for a computer monitor that is used flat...

What if i make a computer desk, with a built in pc, a touch screen monitor that is flat into the desktop. Do i have to pay apple for the pleasure?

Fair enough, patent the stand that you can use to switch the display from one position to another,,, so long as it is truly unique and innovative...

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Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT Steven Knox

Totally different from the patent

The hinge is in a completely different location.

(In fact, if you look at the designs, it's readily apparent that the design in Apple's patent would take up more space than HP's -- especially in transition -- and would be more likely to become imbalanced.)

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Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT Steve Davies 3

UK Pricing?

$900 == £900

With availability? Sometime next year probably.

That would be the norm even with the $/£ rate approx 1.6$/£

PAric cos she knows when its right to lay flat!

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Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT JaitcH

Apple has attempted to patent the idea ...

Apart from the fact that Jobs sticks his name on anything Apple patents screens supplied to certain industries, including the airlines, have had this ability for positioning built-in for years. Adjustable, yet!

Of course, since Jobs only flies corporate jets he wouldn't recognise a check-in counter if he saw one.

The U.S. Patent office ... a standing joke.

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Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT Robert Carnegie

Be careful when using this.

Duue to disability, for years I've been using a touchscreen - but in the normal vertical-facing-you orientation, mostly, elevated to and above eye level - it's standing (securely) on a cheap plastic foot-stool. I had a flat Tablet PC on a desk for a while, but my neck started to hurt badly. It's bad ergonomics.

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Tuesday 8th February 2011 08:26 GMT Anonymous Coward

Patent or engineering?

Sounds like Apple had a paper patent while HP had already gotten so far as to actually build the thing well ahead of One infinte Loop.

Or in this case, One Infinite Oops.

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Tuesday 8th February 2011 10:58 GMT Alhazared

RTF Patent

The patent applied for is titled "TRANSITIONING BETWEEN MODES OF INPUT" and dsescribes the mechanism by which the screen detects the change in angle and changes the input mode and GUI accordingly. I see this as an extension of the tilt / rotate aspect ratio function of the iPad and potentially means that if you're using the screen in upright mode it has a desktop GUI with mouse and keyboard input and the touchscreen may or may not be disabled. Use it in laid back mode and you get an iPad GUI with lower resolution big chunky buttons for your fingers.

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