Introduction
In recent years, many notebook manufacturers released models with multitouch control on touchpad. Multitouch is not new in the industry and it has been popular in the Apple ecosystem, from Macbook to iPhones. The finger gesture support grants the user better controls in daily tasks and simplifies the computing experience. In windows environment, the finger gestures support on HP mini 210 is welcomed but its true strength is not well documented. Hence, I would like to share my experience in getting the most out of the multitouch technology.
HP mini 210
HP mini 210 is one of the netbooks equipped with multitouch enabled touchpad. The multitouch support is supported by Synaptics, a leading worldwide developer of human interface solutions for mobile computing, communications, and entertainment devices.
We can see that the touchpad layout from HP has evolved from click buttons on either sides to now click buttons at the bottom. This change is certainly welcomed as I believe most users prefer the ordinary placed click buttons than travel the fingers left and right to make clicks. The touchpad area is also bigger to accommodate more fingers to perform finger gesture effectively.
Finger Gestures Explained
Utilizing the touchpad area, several finger gestures were tested.
Scrolling Gesture
Tips:
Place two fingers on the touchpad simultaneously and slide in horizontal direction to slide left or right. Sliding two fingers in vertical direction will enable up-down scrolling.
Use:
Particularly useful in long or large spreadsheet or word document. Surfing long web pages made easier with scrolling gesture.
Pinch to Zoom Gesture
Tips:
As illustrated, simply place two fingers in diagonal position and slide away to zoom in. To zoom out, just slide the fingers from apart until they meet.
Use:
Exceptional gesture that works wonderfully in zooming photos, webpages and other contents.
Rotate Gesture
Tips:
Place two fingers on touchpad apart from each other, one in fixed position while move the other finger in arching motion with similar distance between the two fingers.
Use:
As it name says, rotate photos and other items in 90-increments with one, smooth, circular motion. Support both left handed and right handed operation.
Touchpad Lock & Multitouch Lock
Aside from finger gesture, there are some nifty features worth mentioning on this little touchpad. By tapping the small dot on the top left three times, you can disable the touchpad while working with external mouse. Repeat the three taps on the same spot to bring the touchpad back to action. Next, all multitouch features will be automatically disabled when typing is taking place. This is great for users who often activate finger gestures by accident during typing.
Verdict
In short, the touchpad on HP mini 210 feels solid and ergonomically designed. The support for multitouch is a great addition and helps a lot in mobile computing. However, the whole touchpad is click-able which may be a little awkward but it will be fine after some time. Other than that it is a pleasure to use and your performance will not be severely hampered by leaving your bulky mouse at home.
Source: Synaptics
