HP to produce new touchscreen PCs

The TouchSmart All-in-One allows users to work with photos, music, video, the Internet and television by tapping or swiping the screen, and will be priced at $1,299, HP said at the launch in Berlin on Tuesday.

HP's Personal Systems group of PCs, notebooks, workstations and handheld devices has transformed itself over the past few years from a largely commoditized volume business to a far more successful one that emphasizes product design.

The group's executive vice president, Todd Bradley, told Reuters he aimed to set a trend and create a new market.

"We don't think about this as a niche. We think about it as a global product that will inspire demand and drive desirability," Bradley said in a telephone interview.

"Our ability to lead is very important," he added, declining to speculate on what size the market for such PCs might reach.

HP's announcement came a day after Apple announced a new version of its ground-breaking iPhone, the original version of which brought touchscreens to public attention and sparked a host of imitators.

Bradley denied that HP was following Apple, pointing out that HP had been developing touch technology for some time. But analyst Crawford del Prete of research firm IDC said: "I don't think Apple's impact can be underestimated."

The new TouchSmart PCs will launch in 17 countries in July, including the United States, Japan, China, India and Britain.

Its price tag is higher than the $1,199 starting price for Apple's iMacs, which do not have a touchscreen, although they do have many pioneering features that make manipulating digital media easier.news7