Rumored iMac Touch Prods the Imagination

Forget the mythical Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) tablet that's widely predicted to debut at Apple's Jan. 27 media event -- how about a new iMac "touch"?

Apple may be planning on delivering a 22-inch iMac with a touchscreen display, according to DigiTimes, in turn citing Chinese newspaper Commercial Times. Apparently Quanta would do the manufacturing, with Taiwan-based Sintek Photronic said to supply the touchscreen panels.

So what's the big deal? HP (NYSE: HPQ) announced its first all-in-one touchscreen PC back 2007 -- the HP TouchSmart PC. Then, over the years, the company has produced several iterations of its design, and lots of PC makers are jumping into touchscreens with Windows 7. Yet Apple hasn't bothered to deliver a touchscreen iMac. What gives?

The HP TouchSmart all-in-one desktop PCs uses a combination of cameras and IR light to locate the position of a finger on the screen. In contrast, smartphones like the iPhone use capacitive touchscreens. In my experience, it's hard to beat the fine accuracy of a capacitive touchscreen, though the HP TouchSmart screens I've played with have been much better than I expected.

In any event, I believe that if Apple wanted to produce a touch-capable iMac, the company would do it with capacitive screens rather than other methods that have been available for years.

Is That Big?

Touchscreens are all over the place, from airports to ATMs, and they use a variety of screen types and technologies. I'm no expert, but Jennifer Colegrove, director of display technologies at DisplaySearch, is. She told me there are touchscreens up to 150 inches in size, and moreover, that capacitive types of screens can scale up to 100 inches.

While most capacitive LCD-type screens are currently limited to small, portable form factors, there's definitely room for Apple to work with a supplier to deliver a larger capacitive touchscreen.

While we're at it, it's not just Apple: In August, Sintek was able to produce a capacitive touchscreen up to 13.4 inches that passed Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) certification requirements for touchscreens for use with its products, according to what appears to be a DigiTimes report posted on Sintek's Web site. While 13.4 is a far cry from the 22 inches in the latest rumor, that was months ago, and Apple is known for working secretive deals and ensuring that its partners keep quiet.

So It's Possible, But Who Wants One?

Let's assume that Apple is going to announce a tablet device on Jan. 27. I won't be surprised if Apple announces new touch-friendly versions of iWork and iLife, too. For those who have been following the evolution of newer versions, the application interfaces have gotten progressively more "touch-friendly" -- think Cover Flow embedded in Mac OS X and big, simple buttons for editing photos that would happy accept the touch of a finger. There's been plenty of rumors and speculation to this effect, and it's just not much of a leap of Apple faith.

There's also the chance that Apple will try to debut some new kind of content subscription model -- you know, shake up the industry, as Apple CEO Steve Jobs likes to do. This could include new TV subscriptions or delivery options, and it could also include new ways to publish newspapers and magazines. The latest rumor about The New York Times is that the online media giant is laying the foundation for a new paid subscription model. The Times is a perfect vehicle for Apple to showcase -- it's a big, well-read and (political issues aside) generally respected publication. Plus, if there's a currently free online site that has a prayer of a chance in leading the way and succeeding with a new payment plan, NYTimes.com might be it.

All of this is a long way of getting to this question: Where is an "iMac touch" going to be useful? Other than with small children in a preschool setting, where's a big touchscreen going to be worth having? Retail settings, sure, but certainly not in most work environments. Handy, maybe. And yeah, I can see navigating some spreadsheets by touching a screen, but for an entire day? I imagine that my right shoulder would become packed with muscle from constantly waving my arm about. Carpal tunnel what?

The Kitchen

I can see an iMac touch in the kitchen. I'm a big fan of listening to music while cooking and cleaning, and I've found a handful of recipes online that I've printed out. If I could get CNN or watch a football game on the screen at the same time, that would be great, too.

In the morning, I could see sitting at the kitchen bar, eating a bowl of cereal, and flicking my way through a big-screen version of my local papers (and The New York Times). I can also imagine an iMac touch becoming a family computer hub -- a spot for iPod, iPhone and Apple TV syncing, as well as a spot to share photos and videos.

Once Apple releases its tablet -- or an iPod touch on steroids, or a new bigger-screen iPhone -- Apple will most certainly make sure that its App Store ecosystem developers are creating apps that can scale to larger screen sizes. Sure, it's not like an accelerometer in an iMac touch would be compelling, so not all apps would make sense, but it would open up consumers to a big world of possible touch-friendly apps. I imagine that most every iPhone owner has at least on iPhone app that they'd like to see available on their Mac. I know I'd like to have several -- syncable, of course!

So the iMac touch could be positioned as a new hub. Throw in VoIP solutions like Skype (or iChat, etc.), and it might even start edging out the kitchen phone.

Still, an iMac touch hardly seems like a necessity. In fact, with the laptop form factor doing so well, it's hard to imagine a big market for iMac touches. Unless ... a companion tablet ends up having enough horsepower (with a usable keyboard) to let people travel with it. In that case, forget the MacBook and go with a big iMac/tablet combination, which could function in a work environment, too. Right now, for some business trips, I could almost leave my MacBook behind and live on my iPhone ... with a real keyboard attachment, though, which I hope Apple eventually supports with a tablet.

Where's Your Imagination?

Of course, this is Apple we're talking about. While the DigiTimes story says Apple might be producing a 22-inch iMac ... maybe it's not making an iMac at all? Might Apple be creating one huge, astounding 22-inch touchscreen tablet? Oh baby! Now that'd make an awesome next-generation newspaper delivery model.

With 42-inch LCD TVs hitting the market that seem impossibly thin -- 1.2 inches? -- this doesn't seem like much of an engineering stretch anymore. Apple, it turns out, is already using a unibody aluminum manufacturing process for MacBooks, which delivers an extraordinarily stout, light frame.

Give the 22-inch "touch" some sort of built-in stand, and wow ... Apple would really blow everyone away.

Either way, if Apple produces anything 22 inches and touch-friendly, you can bet that Jobs will find a compelling way to articulate its position and value -- certainly better than a "kitchen Mac."