Win 8 Touchscreen vs. Win 7

Yeah. The original post's actual question was this: "However, there are many laptops coming with high-resolution touchscreen displays now. Do any of you own one? How is Win 8 when you have a touch interface, compared to Win 7 with only mouse?" Looking back through the thread, I'm not sure that any post after post 3 is responsive to the original poster's question.

 

I recently purchased (several weeks ago) an Acer V5-122p with touchscreen and Windows 8. I forced myself to use it without a mouse and use touchpad, keyboard, and touchscreen only. Maybe it was just the device but it's still an annoying experience. Maybe because everything I use isn't geared towards Win 8, but 99.999% of software out there isn't. As far as I'm concerned you either stick with Metro entirely or use desktop. I still don't see any middle ground. You still need a pointing device besides touchscreen, at least I haven't found an easy or convenient way, to group icons and arrange them how you like. I still get disconcerted when I'm looking for an app or document and have to switch to a separate screen altogether and can't reference the apps on my desktop while doing so.

 

TBH, I read this as Win8 with a touch screen and Win 7 as normal use. Now if it were worded as "Touchscreens, Win8 vs. Win7" but I think the OP punctuation is proper to my reading as since the proper period is use in vs.. Again maybe I am wrong here..................

 

You got it.

 

While I do not have a touchscreen system I think I would prefer touchscreen over a track pad but not over a mouse. Now this would be for normal desktop usage. For tablet type access a touch screen wins every day . The Modern UI though, for me at least, looses everyday.

Now I have played with convertibles in the store so this is how I know I would not like them over a mouse. It isn't just that first usage awkwardness either..................

 

In my experience, very, very few people carry mice around with their laptops; most laptop owners I know rely on the trackpad nowadays. You and the original poster are very much exceptions to the rule in my experience.

Unless someone carries a mouse around with them, the question becomes (1) traditional laptop with trackpad, or (2) convertible laptop with trackpad and touchscreen and sometimes a digitizer stylus (the Duo 11 is about the only one that doesn't feature a trackpad, and it has a trackpoint).

I personally prefer the versatility of the latter; there are some situations where I prefer a trackpad as my primary pointer input (Microsoft Office and similar programs with dense menus), but there are others where I prefer a touchscreen (web browsing, flipping through the news, media watching (particularly on an exercise machine)).

 

In this case I would prefer touchscreen with Windows 8... which I would downgrade to 7 even if it would cost me something.

 

As an aside, I remember playing around with some Windows 7 tablet a few months ago, and I found it perfectly usable. My guess is, if I got myself a tablet or convertible, I'd probably still install Windows 7 on it. Windows 8 offers nothing that I want.

 

Yes, the question was along the line of is Windows 8 with a touchscreen going to the issues I have with Windows 8 without a touchscreen vs Windows 7, but the thread still degenerated pretty quickly.

The answer to the OP's question was made very clear at the beginning: no it won't. However, that didn't prevent the thread from degenerating like every thread where Windows 8 is mentioned. Seems like it stopped degenerating now though.

 

If I were to get a Windows 8 touchscreen device i'd go with a Windows 8 tablet, maybe a Yoga 13. That's the best experience you'll get with Windows 8. When I tried the Surface Pro I thought it worked great. I liked all the things the OS incorporated on the Tablet side but the Surface Pro was priced too high for me to consider it.

The prices have come down recently but that's only because MS hasn't been able to sell enough of them and supposedly the Surface Pro 2's are imminent.

 

I agree that the best Windows 8 user experience is on a convertible. It's really well-suited to that sort of hardware.

If you want convertible form factor but much cheaper than the Surface Pro and such, the Asus TransformerBook T100 costs $349 including detachable keyboard dock, and offers a good-quality 1366x768 IPS display and a Bay Trail processor. It's coming out in the next month or so.

 

I also agree that the experience is at its best on a tablet/convertible, but when I'm in "laptop mode" nothing beats keyboard and mouse/trackpad/trackpoint imo. Manufactures should think more of the gestures you can use on a trackpad when they design their notebooks though.

 

I'm waiting to see what MS announces on the Surface Tablet front. Supposedly we should hear something this month.

Surface 2 release date, news and rumours | News | TechRadar
"It seemed sure that a new Surface 2 running Windows RT was imminent due to price reductions and now Microsoft has sent out invites to the media for a New York City event on September 23."

I really did like the Surface Pro but like I said it was a tad too much. If they can offer an upgrade at a compelling price I may bite.

 

TBH, again, If I had a touchscreen PC I would probably still use Windows 7. I would carry a mouse but where impractical I would use the touch screen rather than the touch pad. On a truly portable system like that I would probably also want to use the normal Windows 7 start menu too. Rocket dock is fine on the DTR but I am not sure how well it would fare on small high res screen with touch.

 

Windows 8 is ok for someone who knows how to customize. Out of the box, its horrid. Probably the worst parts are how one is automatically thrown out of the desktop and into the metro apps like pdf files, pic and video files etc.. One has to download many desktop apps and re-associate them to the desktop ones to stop the madness. Many common apps like notepad, calculator should be accessible on desktop. I had to assign short cut keys for these, Ctrl alt N for notepad, Ctrl alt C for calculator etc. Then one has to pin there favorite apps to taskbar. I also put a few things on desktop like computer and control panel. It takes several hours to do all that and for the novice, they will continue to be thrown into the modern side and have to waddle around looking for everyday stuff. But the good thing about MS OS's is that one can customize so I don't mind it. But I can see how some would hate it.

 

That is indeed asinine, I've said it before, MS should have just made two sets of defaults out of the box: in metro you default to metro apps and on the desktop, you default to the desktop version. No need to set permissions, which I don't mind doing, but honestly, you shouldn't have to.

I wouldn't say it is horrid out of the box, but it does take some getting used to. I had to tell myself often that I could just hit the start key and type what I wanted to search in Windows 8 since there's nothing indicating you can. The search bar in the start menu was pretty obvious in Windows 7. I can still get similar behavior, but the UI doesn't give you a hint of that fact.

Still, I'm glad I had the patience to give Windows 8 its chance. I don't regret it, I use 7 and 8 equally at this point and I don't miss one when I'm using the other. Windows 8 on my tablet feels pretty good to use. Fingers + metro and stylus + desktop is usually the way I use it. The stylus behaves more like a mouse and is a lot more precise which lends itself well to the desktop environment.

That said, I understand the point of view of the people who don't like Windows 8, MS added some nice stuff in 8, but they also took a fair amount away that they shouldn't have.

 

Last week, I received my first Windows 8, IdeadCentre A520 desktop with a touch screen. I know this is a laptop forum, but the OP's question is ambiguous enough for me to comment on the Win 8 OS, and the touch screen. I realize the OP was going for the difference "between" the Win 7, and Win 8 touch screen systems. Heck, I don't know if I've ever seen a Win 7 touch screen!

I completely agree with Tijo, when he said "I wouldn't say it is horrid out of the box, but it does take some getting used to." It's taken me 7 days to get used to the idiosyncrasies of the Win 8 OS, and customize what I want it to do. Every new gadget has a learning curve, and 8's no exception. But for me, this "curve" has been a lot of fun!

IMHO Windows 8 was built for touch screen enabled devices. I can't see why anyone would want the 8 OS, without the touch screen. Yeah, I can control my system using only my mouse, but it's so much easier swiping, and plunking, the touch screen! Of course, keep in mind I have a 23" screen. I don't know how I would feel using a 15" laptop, or even a smaller tablet's touch screen. A laptop without a touch screen, using 8 with only a trackpad, would be a nightmare for me.

I really don't want to fire up the 7 vs 8 debate, in this thread. I only wanted to express my experience using 8, with a very capable touch screen. :yes:

 

I stopped by Best Buy today checking out the new Nexus 7. They had the Win8 RT/Pro on display. I tried them again and they really are pretty slick along with Win8 but still overpriced IMO. The 128GB Pro was marked down to $899 and that doesn't include a keyboard which is extra although not needed and I wouldn't get one.

With the rumor of the new Surface tablet announcements i'm going to wait. I'm disappointed with iOS 7. I have too many Android devices. I guess getting a Win8 tablet might be the best time to buy one but i''ll wait for the announcement and price of the 2nd gen Surface tablets.

 

Second-gen convertibles are going to include more affordable options than the first-gen did (the first-gen Win8 convertibles focused on the $1000+ market). There will still be high-end options--the Haswell-equipped Vaio Duo 13 at $1400 is one such option--but there will be far more affordable convertibles as well. For example, the Asus TransformerBook T100, offering an IPS touchscreen (10.1", 1366x768), quad-core Bay Trail, and keyboard dock all for $349. http://forum.notebookreview.com/not...sformer-book-t100-hands-video-discussion.html

 

If I get a Win8 tablet it's going to be a surface. I'm gonna wait for the MS announcement which supposedly is next month.

 

According to CNET we should get an announcement this Monday.

Microsoft Surface 2 debut: Pricing, specs, and other info | Microsoft - CNET News

 

Just out of curiosity: Why? I have handled one of these once, and I think the design is absolutely atrocious: While beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, and that I consider them stunningly ugly may be just my own prejudice, what is an objective fact is that there's sharp corners and edges everywhere, meaning they're uncomfortable to hold no matter how, and the 16:9 aspect ratio of the screen is wildly inappropriate for a tablet (well, unless all you do is watch videos), and close to unusable in portrait mode.

 

The 16:9 ratio is great for split-screen use; a factor you don't have to consider with iDevices or most Android devices. It's also handy for a mail app (given that you tend to have two or three columns), and many other apps use a horizontal scrolling layout instead of vertical scrolling. So long as you use it in landscape, 16:9 makes a ton of sense for the Surface and other Windows tablets.

I'll agree that it's not well-suited to portrait.

My Vaio Duo 11 has edges and corners that are just as "sharp" and it's never once hurt my hands in eleven months of use.

 

To be honest, a 16:10 format would probably be ideal for a Windows tablet, if the HP Elitepad had a decent digitizer, I'd be using one right now instead of my Thinkpad Tablet 2.

And we've gone off topic again, but the OP's question has been answered and there's no flamewar in sight so far, so carry on.

 

As a consumption based tablet it does a nice job. I'm leaning on the Surface 2 and not the Pro. This is where you can actually enjoy using Windows 8 as it was meant to be. And as I have Android and iOS tablets i'm actually considering the new Surface.

 

The Surface 2 and Pro 2 were announced. Both devices are faster, have longer battery life. The Surface 2 RT comes with Full HD and priced at $449.

Microsoft announces the Surface 2, the follow-up to the original Surface RT; coming October 22nd for $449

 

^^^Is it me or do they look even wider now.

 

You mean thicker? If so yes they look thicker to me. Supposedly they are still 10.1 devices. I wish they were 16:10 format.

EDIT: My bad CNET did mention they are thinner but longer.

 

One thing I just realized is that you *NEED* a Windows 8 or RT device to even look at the apps available in the Windows app store. Seriously? So what if people want to browse what selection of apps are available to them BEFORE they buy a Windows device? I don't get it.

 

I have the Surface Pro right now (and love it) but I was kind of hoping for a bigger change with the Surface 2...

 

What sort of changes were you looking for? Maybe a Haswell-equipped OEM offering would be a better fit; there's a lot on the market now. The Vaio Tap 11 is a good option if you like the slate-with-kickstand concept. It's decidedly thinner than the Surface Pro, slightly larger (11.6"), and the keyboard cover doesn't have to be attached to the slate to work (so you can have the keyboard sitting in your lap with the slate on an airplane tray, on a coffee table next to you, etc).

 

The main thing I don't like about the Pro is how the keyboard folds back and all the keys are exposed when you use it as a tablet. It's a good protector so the back doesn't get scratched, but then the keys end up taking some abuse. I was hoping for some kind of slick swivel design we've seen on conventional laptops.

Also, mine sometimes has glitches and I'm hoping they've fixed that with the 2.

 

The new Vaio Flip lineup and the Haswell XPS12 refresh might both be great options then.

Sent from my Galaxy S III using Tapatalk 2.

 

Me too and once again the price will make it irrelevant. I was interested in the device. I'll see what Lenovo does with the Yoga refresh.

 

Lenovo's already unveiled their refresh. Two, actually, the Yoga 2 Pro (the next-gen Ideapad Yoga 13) and the Thinkpad Yoga.

The Yoga 2 Pro a slimmer design, a half-pound less weight (3.1 lbs now), a 3200x1800 IPS touchscreen, and 9 hours of battery life, all for $1,099. IMO it's the device to beat of the second-gen convertibles.

The Thinkpad Yoga sticks with a 1080p screen but adds digitizer stylus support. It's not as thin or light as the Yoga 2 Pro, but it has a plate that mechanically moves out so that the keyboard is just one flush surface when it's in tablet mode, so you don't feel keys on the back of the device.

 

What's the screen resolution of both products? I just placed an order for a Y510P with 750m SLI. Do either Yoga have backlit keyboards?

 

I posted screen resolutions The Yoga 2 Pro is 3200x1800 and the Thinkpad Yoga is 1080p. The Yoga 2 Pro has a backlit keyboard; don't know about the Thinkpad Yoga.

 

Yeah that does looks pretty nice. Weird cause I went to Lenovo's site and they don't list the price. I also don't see a MicroSD port listed in the specs. I do agree the device shows a lot of potential.

 

I don't think Lenovo usually lists prices on its own website until it's available for sale, but they announced the price when they announced the device. I'll go on sale later this month.

As for microSD, I don't know many that do. The Vaio Duo and Flip lines and the Vaio Tap 11 (similar to the Surface in form factor) all have full-size SD card storage. I don't think the Yoga 2 Pro has either.