We've already seen plenty of portable computing systems being officially unveiled prior to the opening of this year's CES event from Las Vegas, and it's quite clear that the flood of official launches is far from over. So, it should come as no surprise that HP also brought along some interesting novelties, one of the coolest being its new touch-enabled convertible notebook, the TouchSmart tm2.

According to HP, one of the most important features provided by the tm2 is the fact that it allows users to choose the product configuration and input method that is most comfortable and natural. So, while used as a traditional notebook, the tm2 offers a keyboard and touch-enabled display for input. Converted to a slate, the tm2 morphs into a sketchpad with digital pen.

The included multitouch display supports multitouch gestures such as zoom, scroll and rotate by allowing more than one finger to be accepted as input simultaneously. With the digital pen, handwriting appears on the display as digital ink, similar to writing on paper.

Featuring a sophisticated aluminum design with “Riptide” engraved illustration, the tm2 provides a full notebook experience with the latest low-voltage Intel Core 2 Duo processors and optional high multimedia performance ATI Mobility Radeon discrete graphics upgrades. Moreover, for users who spend a lot of time on the go, the tm2 also provides up to nine hours of battery life via the standard six-cell battery and includes a fingerprint reader, as well as an advanced thermal design that helps keep the PC cool.

Additionally, we'll have to point out that the tm2 also features many of the same exclusive built-for-touch applications found on the recently introduced tx2 and HP TouchSmart PC, including exclusive touch-enabled games and Corel Painter Sketch Pad application for creating digital art.

Base price for the tm2 is $949, and HP informs us that U.S. customers will be able to purchase it starting with January 17.


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