CF-19 Touchscreen versus Digitizer? Please help!

Hey all, I'm looking to get a cf-19 and have read every piece of information I can find but there's one thing I cant find any information about and I'd really like to know ASAP.

The thing I want to know is what, in gory detail, is the difference between a cf-19 with a touchscreen versus the digitizer. I'm interested in the touchscreen because I'm considering using it as a GPS assistant sometimes, but I'm also interested in the precise tracking of the digitizer.

My experience only involves having used a lenovo x200t tablet with digitizer and back when I got one of those, the brightness and quality difference was apparently very noticeable between the two and I had hardly planned to ever use anything other than the stylus to touch the screen so it seemed obvious to me.

Regardless, I have a few very specific things I'd like to know. I know the digitizer has something like a 550 nit screen while the touchscreen has a 470 nit, but what I don't know is whether or not the 470 nit touchscreen version comes with a stylus for drawing precise pictures. If it does come with a stylus, is it also a full digitizer or is the digitizer-only version the only one with a precise digitizer? Is it unfortunately just some sort of hacky way of using a pen to emulate a finger like I've seen sold for iphones? Is it kinda like the way a nintendo DS works where your finger will do the job if you want but the "piece of plastic" stylus (i.e.: not a digitizer embedded) will also work? Is the brightness difference substantial enough to matter, like it's actually hard to see the 470 nit in the sunlight?

Most importantly, does anyone have any general "feel" experiences with the touchscreen versus the digitizer? If you have one or the other, do you feel as if you made the wrong choice or absolutely the right one? Is there anything else I should know?

I'd also really REALLY appreciate a link to some resource or just the simple knowledge of EXACTLY what screens/functionalities come with specific model numbers of CF-19s. I always had thinkwiki for thinkpads and I can't find any resource like that for toughbooks.

Thanks so much if you could provide any help at all!!

 

Google "Touchscreen VS Digitizer and most of your questions will be answered....

However... Most prefer the touchscreen as you can use your finger. BUT it is less precise than the digitizer model... But you MUST use the digitizer stylus to make any marks on the screen.

The touchscreen waits until you touch it... The digitizer senses the magnet of the stylus and "reaches out" for it.

I would say that most prefer the touchscreen unless you are into heavy duty graphics, drawing, engineering, any type of CAD, etc.

Hope this helps... Of course the rest of the crowd will chime in as well.

 

See i knew how the digitizer works, like I mentioned I have an x200t tablet. I like how precise the digitizer is but I guess I'm leaning towards the touchscreen for the cf-19. I was mainly hoping I could get some specific impressions about the way it is implemented in the cf-19, even if as simple as mentioning the screen quality itself.

I have a feeling getting a used cf-19 with a touchscreen is probably best because a digitizer has a much higher chance of being very scratched up. Do the CF-19s have easily/cheap replaceable screen protectors to make it look nice and fresh?

 

they make a dual touch now with both digitizer and touchscreen. and I think their new tablet also has multitouch, but of course those are big bucks since they are the latest MK builds

 

I have both touchscreen and digitizer CF-18s, and for most of my in car navigation I prefer the digitizer. The screen protector actually takes less of a beating with the digitizer as its not covered with greasy fingerprints which hold dust and grit which lead to scratches and more need for frequent cleaning. I don't use software like Iguidance which has big icons which work well with the finger, and find the ability to rest my hand on the screen while using the stylus a big advantage when tapping small icons and hand writing into search boxes and the like. My $0.02.
CAP

 

My CF-19 is a touchscreen version. I have never had a digitizer screen, so I cannot really compare them. The touchscreen comes with a screen protector and you can buy a replacement. I have not replaced mine yet (about two years old), I gather it is a bit tricky to do it right without getting dust and bubbles in between. Scratches are not a big problem, but I do have a slightly shinier area along the right edge where I frequently move the scrollbar up and down.

The stylus is just a dumb plastic stick, I hardly ever use it, I prefer the finger (actually, the fingernail). Precision, hmm... As I said, I cannot really compare it to anything. It takes getting used to, though. But once I was used to it, it works pretty well. I can handle XP good enough, including clicking small icons, selecting text for copy&paste, playing De-Animator. I prefer the touchscreen over the touchpad. Combined with Garmin MobilePC and the builtin GPS it becomes a nice navigation system.

On the other hand, drawing and such won't work well, the precision is not good enough (unless you just want rough sketches). Writing is so-so - my handwriting is not very beautiful to begin with, and it does not improve on the screen. I have not had many problems with the screen detecting my palm, though. The screen requires a fairly firm prodding with something pointy, anything soft like skin usually does not work for me. A nuisance is the lack of a good way to right-click. That is, you can right-click, for example by pressing STRG while touching the screen, but this can turn into a hassle. This is especially so if you want to flip the screen to use it as a tablet - you would have to bring up the on-screen keyboard for every right-click. I don't flip the screen much...

Good question. Sometimes I would prefer a digitizer, I think, but at other times I prefer the simplicity of the touchscreen. The new models which combine both screen types seem ideal in that regard. However, I must also say that the touch functionality is not that critical for me, so I'm probably not the best person to pass judgement here; I bought the CF-19 to have a small, rugged, silent notebook, and I would have bought it even if the screen was neither touch nor digitizer.

 

Like I said... The calvary has charged in. I have had both in the CF-18 (Touchscreen and Digitizer) I prefer the touchscreen as I like to poke around with my fingers on the screen sometimes. But it is cool to see the cursor on the screen reach out to the digitzer stylus....

 

I have the digitizer model so that I can draw and write on the screen. I like it.
You should choose between drawing and writing / quick mouse-less navigation.

But I think you will always find a use that you would wish you had the other model.