Munich, December 13: All-in-one PCs are full computers in which the entire innards are stored within the casing of the display itself. The concept behind these “AIO” machines is not exactly new: Apple has been earning good money for years now through its AIO line of iMacs. And AIO computers running the Windows operating system have also been a frequent sight on the market. But now there’s a veritable invasion of AIO machines on the market. What separates the current models from devices of earlier generations is touchscreen functionality. The computers can be controlled directly through touching the display: call up the browser, open windows and much more – all with your fingers.
What benefits does touch technology offer? The direct and largely intuitive use of fingers makes many tasks easier to perform than working with a keyboard and mouse, says Dirk Neuneier, Marketing Director at hardware maker MSI Technology. It’s easier to navigate quickly through websites, including enlarging or reducing the zoom. The direct control concept also makes such PCs more appealing to a broader target group – including the generation of users who didn’t grow up with computers, Neuneier says.
Why are these devices coming now? In short, because of Window 7, an operating system designed from the ground up to work with touchscreens. Among the devices that can benefit from this is the Aspire Z5610 from Acer: the 16:9 format computer measures 23 inches across the diagonal and costs 999 dollars. Customers can opt for dual or quad-core processors and up to 8 Gigabytes (GB) of DDR3 RAM. An ATI HD4570 with 512 MB of memory on board is provided as a graphics card. WLAN 802.11n is also included, as is an integrated hybrid TV tuner.
MSI has built its Wind Top AE2220 Multitouch PC to measure around 55 cm at the diagonal and a built-in webcam. The unit comes with WLAN, a 640 gigabyte hard drive, a DVD Super-Multi drive, a HDMI port and a 6-in-1 card reader. An Intel Core 2 Duo processor, four gigabytes of RAM and an ION graphics processor from Nvidia are all included. The computer comes with Windows 7 pre-installed and sports a wireless mouse and keyboard, all for 799 dollars.
Acer and MSI are not the only providers of all-in-one systems with touchscreen technology. Units from HP and Medion have also introduced designs. “The devices generally also possess an integrated webcam and microphone. Wireless input devices are also often included with delivery to get rid of tangled cables,” explains Andreas Kuch from Germany’s PC-Welt magazine.
The new AIO computers with touchscreen controls cannot be directly compared with low-end AIOs. Those devices – roughly 600 dollars and below – typically use netbook components, which are relatively weak performers. The current AIOs have significantly more power, even if many models feature certain hardware components that were originally designed for full laptops. While less powerful than standard desktop PC components, laptop parts also generate less heat, saving on both cooling and space.
The systems are more than capable of handling standard PC tasks like writing emails and surfing the web. Even photo and video editing at normal resolutions are not a problem. But, says Kuch, “for editing HD videos, the devices are less than desirable.” The disadvantage is also that all-in-one devices are not easy to upgrade.
As with laptops, AIOs tend to feature hardware components specifically selected to work with other components, MSI notes. That makes it much more difficult to replace components at a later date. “RAM and hard drives can usually be swapped out, though,” Kuch explains.
The touchscreen function has its limits, though. It cannot completely replace input using a keyboard and mouse. “If you are writing a longer email message or even a full article, then you’ll need to use the standard keyboard,” MSI says. To date, touchscreen controls have more typically served as a supplement to the classic input devices.
–Agencies