Windows 7 for Tablet and Touch PCs: What We Know

fuji_p1620_slate_hqWindows 7 will be released soon, and it promises to bring an enhanced experience for PCs with digitizers. The Tablet and touch features have generated excitement, especially in the area of multitouch capability. Netbooks and UMPCs with touchscreens are starting to appear in greater numbers, and owners are already planning to install Windows 7 on these devices. Some intrepid folks have already done so, and are discovering that all of the fancy tablet/touch bits don’t automatically come along for the ride. Here’s what I know about the tablet and touch capabilities of Windows 7, along with the requirements to get them going on today’s devices.

Many readers have expressed an interest in having a netbook or UMPC that can be used as a Tablet PC. Windows 7 is known to install the Tablet bits, but some folks are discovering that they have to go through extra steps to enable them. It is important to realize that a standard touch digitizer, while it can be used for inking, is not as good at that as a “real” Tablet PC. The resistive digitizer used in most touchscreens is not as resolute as an active digitizer, the piece of kit that makes Tablets so good at inking.

Windows 7 Home Premium and higher editions of Windows 7 bring these Tablet bits, including handwriting recognition and the text input panel (TIP) on all devices that have a digitizer. This includes touchscreens and active pen digitizers. The tablet bits are also installed on devices without any digitizer, but they are stashed away in Accessories/Tablet PC. The TIP will even work without a digitizer, but it must be started manually. It’s not much good without a digitizer, though.

Some UMPCs are not enabling the tablet stuff upon install of Windows 7, no doubt due to the lack of real Windows 7 drivers. Windows 7 is not officially out yet and very few hardware makers have produced certified drivers for it. If you install Windows 7 on your netbook/UMPC and the tablet stuff is not visible upon boot, then look in the Accesories group as mentioned. It may be there, just hidden away.

Microsoft has made a big deal out of the enhanced touch experience with Windows 7. This is due to the rising popularity of touchscreen interfaces. Windows 7 gains sophisticated multitouch and panning features that have a lot of people excited. The interface also supports gesture control and a touch keyboard, which promise a nice user experience. This is a great thing, but there are some caveats that consumers should be aware of.

Microsoft has instituted a Windows Touch Logo certification for Windows 7. The purpose behind the certification is to make sure that touchscreen devices meet all requirements for handling these advanced touch features in Windows 7. The logo certification program consists of a massive 43-point test, which OEMs must pass to get the certification.

Logo certification such as this touch program always sound like a good thing for the consumer. It makes purchasing a device easier as the logo is visible, which brings a reasonable expectation that said device will handle all the fancy touch features. Where it gets a bit hazy is that devices that don’t pass (or get submitted for) the certification can still run Windows 7. The advanced touch features, like panning and multitouch, will not be installed without the official certification, however. That means we may see UMPCs or netbooks with touchscreens that come with Windows 7 installed, but not with all the touch features enabled. I anticipate a few unhappy campers if this happens.

We will have to see how this all plays out when Windows 7 is released. I am only aware of capacitive digitizers, like that in the Dell XT Tablet PC, passing the logo certification. It is unclear at this point if “regular,” or passive digitizers used in most touchscreen devices on the market currently, will pass.

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