Acer unveils Aspire 5738PG – world's first 3D-enabled multi-touchscreen-based laptop

Aspire 5738PG, which promises to make "entertainment and multimedia experiences more intuitive and interactive," boasts of 15.6-inch full "3D film coated" multi-touch widescreen (16:9) LED-backlit display (1366x768) that will allow you to navigate the entire OS without the click of a mouse, and enjoy a number of gestures - including the usual finger tricks such as pinch, zoom, flick, swirl, flip, scroll, etc. Just imagine the fun you will be having rearranging the desktop items or launching entertainment applications with your fingers. Also imagine yourself freaking out as you edit photos and video and handwrite notes on the touchscreen by using just fingers!! All these and more (eg. watching videos and photos and playing games in 3D) are possible thanks to the 3D CineReal Technology backed up by TriDef's 3D Experience software bundle.

Acer has also added fun to the touchscreen experience by utilising a newly developed TouchPortal to give you access to all the usual photos, videos, music, DVD and the Windows 7 touch applications. Though it takes a slightly awkward widget-like approach, with applications displayed in a virtual living room to be dragged onto a screen, it's interesting nonetheless. Also did you know the notebook ships with a pair of 3D glasses?

However, the notebook also retains the traditional keyboard and trackpad - meaning, you are spoilt for choices.

The notebook also boasts of 2.2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 processor (2.2GHz, 2MB of L2 cache and 800MHz FSB), 4GB DDR2 RAM, 320GB HDD, 8x DVD RW, WiFi (802.11a/b/g/Draft-N), HDMI-out, built-in Crystal Eye 1.3-megapixel webcam, dedicated numeric keypad, USB ports, all-in-one card reader, one-touch backup button and biometric fingerprint reader (to keep prying eyes out).

The notebook has also been entertainment-optimised, thanks to its dedicated 512MB DDR3 ATI Radeon HD4570 graphics card (you can play almost all the latest video games without any hiccup with some eye candy turned off) and stereo speakers with Dolby-optimised sound (the Dolby Home Theater Audio Enhanced built-in speakers and 5.1-channel surround sound output are a boon for movie buffs).

The notebook, which weighs 6.16 pounds and has dimensions of 15.1" x 9.9" x 1.0", comes with a 6-cell battery (with enough juice to keep the notebook running for up to 2 hours on a single charge), is Energy Star certified and runs Windows 7 Home Premium OS (64-bit).

"Customers will experience an incredible level of flexibility and control in the multi-touch screen interface, as it frees them to interact with their digital world in a way that is familiar yet also new and exciting," said Ray Sawall, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America, in a statement.

"The Acer Aspire 5738PG's multi-touch experience takes advantage of the many new capabilities in Windows 7 and provides incredibly powerful first-rate technology such as ATI Radeon graphics and an Intel Core 2 Duo processor," he said.

In the US, Aspire 5738PG retails for $800 and will ship on October 22 (to coincide with the official release of Windows 7). However, UK price is yet to be released though it is expected to retail here for around £500.