I am looking for a tablet pc that also can be used like a normal computer. After reading about the HP tx1000z, it lists an optional “touch screen”. It says that you can even use your finger. Will this actually be functional for someone looking to edit pictures in photoshop with a stylus? I’m thinking that since the screen will sense a finger, the hand resting next to the stylus will make the pointer act crazy.
Am I wrong? Can you use a stylus on a screen like that with your hand resting on the screen like you can on a normal USB writing tablet? Is there a better option out there for someone who wants a normal computer that can turn into a tablet fit for photo editing?
I’m not familiar with the HP model but I would recommend WACOM technology insetad of a touchscreen. I have a Gateway C-140X that I love. I do not know the technology behind it, but you have to use a stylus made for the screen Somehow the screen tracks the position of the stylus, and knows when it actually touches the screen, and can even read pressure. It’s very much like writing with a real pen, and you get all the precision you need. There is never a misread from anything else touching the screen. The pen doesn’t have a battery (that I know of) so I don’t know how this works without active circuitry.
(When I was a programmer in 1982 I worked on a CAD system with hardware that used light pens, which was very state-of-the-art then, but this is entirely different.)
You’re right, I believe the name for this phenomenon/problem is “vectoring.” For this reason many tablet PCs use WACOM style digitizers instead of touch screens.
Here’s a link to a discussion on this model and this issue. Frankly it’s not the greatest discussion but it is specific to what you are trying to find out.
Also, if I understand correctly, you can’t “hover” with a touch screen. Whenever you touch the screen with your stylus or finger, it’s like moving the mouse cursor there and clicking on it. You can’t use mouseover features, for example.
I think a touchscreen is like a touchpad–you can slide around to hover; tap and slide to drag & drop; a tap is like a click; and a double-tap is like a double click.
You can use a touchscreen with Photoshop to draw, but it has a lot less sensitivity to pressure differences, and a lower resolution, than a WACOM tablet. So you probably won’t be able to create a subtle detailed work of art, but you should be able to make a simple colour sketch with little problem. Apart from the issues already mentioned above, I suppose.