Windows 7 to Have iPhone-like Touch Features?

One Microsoft employee has decided to give just the smallest bit of insight as to what we might see in Windows 7. Hilton Locke, a developer on the Windows Shell team, is the source of the “leak” this time around. He didn’t really say much, but after a brief mention of Dell’s new Tablet PC he went on to say:

Also, I want to apologize to the Tablet fans out there for not posting for so long. Reorgs, moving buildings, and Windows 7 work have all conspired against blogging here.

I will say that if you are impressed by the “touch features” in the iPhone, you’ll be blown away by what’s coming in Windows 7. Now if only we could convince more OEMs that Windows Touch Technology is going to drive their sales.

It’s rather interesting that he chose to use the iPhone as a comparison point for the touch technology in Windows 7. Maybe a better thing to compare it to is the Microsoft Surface table, which is one of their own products.

There isn’t much that we can take away from that statement, but I think it implies that Microsoft will be implementing multi-touch technology into Windows. Can’t say that really surprises me given that we’ve already seen the Microsoft research lab demonstrate a laptop with those capabilities.

One thing is for sure though…multi-touch laptops probably won’t be very cheap when they are first released. A small amount of Tablet PC’s have finally found their way under the $1,000 barrier, but many (such as Dell’s) are still $2,000 and beyond.

[via Mary Jo Foley]