Multi-touch was one of the first features of Windows 7 announced officially by Microsoft. There were not many updates on that feature after the initial demonstration and announcements. This has changed yesterday with Brandon Le Blanc’s post about enabling multi-touch in the Windows 7 Beta at the official Windows blog. The following multi-touch devices are supported currently by Windows 7:
- HP TouchSmart All-in-One PCs (IQ500 series & IQ800 series)
- HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PC
- Dell Latitude XT Tablet PC
That’s not a lot of choice currently but keep in mind that windows 7 is still in beta stage and that drivers will most likely be available for other devices when the release candidate or final version of Windows 7 are released. To enable multi-touch one has to install specific drivers for the devices that support the feature:
For HP TouchSmart All-in-One PCs: The driver is available from Windows Update. After you have installed the Window 7 Beta, open Windows Update from the Start menu. You might have to click the “Check for Updates” link on your left so it will find the driver, it is Optional right now so you’ll have to select it before it will install.
For the Dell Latitude XT and HP TouchSmart tx2 Tablet PCs: the drivers are available now on N-Trig’s website. N-Trig is the company that makes the digitizer in these PCs (you should read the release notes, there are some limitations, like no pen support you should be aware of and how to switch between Windows Vista and Windows 7). Please also note these are beta drivers and are not supported by Dell or HP.
Brandon is also highlighting some of the features of Windows 7 that support multi-touch including Microsoft Paint, Jumplists or Internet Explorer.
