What a Touchscreen Would do for the Mac

August 24th, 2008 at 3:00 PM - News by John Martellaro

Itis time for Apple to introduce a full-fledged touchscreen Mac to the market, according to Don Reisinger at CNET on Monday.

So far, Apple has stopped short of a full touchscreen Mac and restricted that technology to the iPhone. Mr. Reisinger wondered if itis time for Apple to take the risk of introducing a touchscreen Mac that would further differentiate Macs from Dell and HP PCs.

"Innovation has been a key to Appleis success over the past decade and without it, the company would be nothing more than another computer vendor," Mr. Reisinger wrote. "But by releasing a Mac that eclipses the functionality of the tablet PC and fully harnesses the power of multitouch in a way that no one has seen before, Apple can create the computing worldis first iPhone-like success."

With the multitouch pad on the MacBook Air, Apple is well on its way. Of course, for those who donit want to type on virtual keyboard, a conventional keyboard, that Mac shuld also provide a physical keyboard.

"Why Apple and not Dell or HP? Itis simple -- Apple is the only company in the market thatis willing to risk failure to be the most innovative and beloved company in the space. On top of that, Apple is the only company in that market that truly has a pulse on the desires of most consumers," Mr. Reisinger explained.

Such a product could accelerate Appleis recent market share gains, and show Appleis customers that itis still the kind of company that takes risks, gives customers what they want, and can do what was once thought impossible, the author concluded.