The biggest problem with touchscreen PCs - especially desktops - seems to be that they just aren't comfortable to use. Reaching out to poke around a monitor turns out to be a bit of a pain for long periods of time.
Now HP thinks it's cracked this conundrum with two new all-in-ones (AIOs) that recline by 60 degrees so that their touchscreens can be used more comfortably. The hinge also slides forward, coming towards you as it leans back.
The TouchSmart 610 is a home PC, while the TouchSmart 9300 is the business variant designed mainly for point-of-sale and 'customer spaces', although they both share a few common features. The most obvious is the 23in 1,920x1,080px LED-backlit screen and although specs are pretty limited at the moment, both will have the choice of unnamed Intel or AMD desktop processors.
The more family-friendly 610 will be configurable with a Blu-ray drive, up to 1TB mechanical storage, a 1.3MP webcam and speakers that have gotten the seal of approval from Dr Dre's Beats Audio. Its business counterpart will have the option of upgrading to a Sandy Bridge CPU, a 160GB SSD, up to 16GB RAM and a 2MP webcam with facial recognition - although it does miss out on the fancy speakers.
Obviously both systems will run Windows 7, but the 610 will be skinned with HP's own TouchSmart software to help make the most of the interface.
Apparently, the 610 will start shipping this week in the US starting at $900 (£700 inc VAT), while the 9300 won't hit the shops until May. For anyone interested, Engadget has a video of the swivelling motion in action, and it is apparently both sturdy and relatively easy to move.
Our only question now is when HP is expecting a call from Apple's lawyers.
