There have been numerous advances in the way users are able to interface with computers but nothing rivals the touch screen. From laptops to ATM machines, laptops have become the standard method of command input especially public places where it best serves the general public who may not have much experience with modern technological gadgets. Today they have infiltrated the personal computing industry and now touch screen laptops are available in the market as an alternative to traditional laptops.

The intuitive nature of a touch screen interface shortens the operational learning curve and as a result is massively popular in banking terminals, information kiosks, and customer self service stations. To more interactive areas, such as gaming consoles, the use of touch screen technology has allowed the maker of games to integrate more flexible user manipulation of the game.

But probably the biggest impact touch screens may have on consumers is by way of the touch screen laptop. Laptops are now more popular than ever because of advancement in processors to allow for powerful machines in the compact space of a laptop. Touch screen laptops offer all the benefits of a traditional laptop but also transform into a full touch screen laptop tablet offering features not available to standard laptop designs. It allows for students to take notes, artists to draw free-hand, and business professionals to draw directly onto the screen during a live presentation.

Popularized by the Palm Pilot, a stylus is commonly used to perform some of the actions that mimic the act of writing or drawing with a pen and paper. This nifty little tool allows the user to input onto the screen in the second most intuitive way we know how. The stylus only works with a certain touch screen technology and the laptop, as well as some smart phones, uses the same design concept that would allow the use of a stylus.

There are two types of touch screen laptops. The slate tablet PC is a solid screen and does not come with a keyboard or mouse or touchpad. It is to be interfaced through the touch screen almost all the time and a keyboard-mouse add on is available. The most common touch screen computer we refer to is the swivel screen that allows the laptop to open up like a standard laptop and still swivel and fold the screen back into a tablet.

While it is hard to imagine what the future brings in technological advances, it probably would incorporate touch screen user interfacing for a while before something better comes along. As more and more of our lives are digitized, we can safely assume that computer screens will increasingly become important parts of our daily lives.

Add in the portability factor and the powerful functionality of a laptop and you have something that can easily occupy a huge chuck of our time. It is very possible for touch screen laptops to take over the traditional laptop in the near future in terms of computer sales and as software improves to better handle the development of the hardware, don't be surprised to discover yourself a proud owner of a touch screen mobile computer one day.