Why does everyone love touchscreens so much?

[Zbigniev Hamson]

I agree they're all nice and shiney and fun to play with, but are they really the best interface for EVERYTHING? Aside from making you feel like you live in the future (which is a feeling that's probably already worn off) what do they really provide? How is swiping your finger all over the place simpler or less effort than just pushing a button?

I have a Kindle 3 (or Kindle Keyboard as it's now known) and I can happily hold that in one hand in a comfortable reading position (with either hand) and literally move my thumb a millimetre to change pages, or perhaps 12 millimetres if I want to go back a page. I've tried one of the newer touchscreen models and they're a real pain in comparison, having to make much bigger finger movements all the time, and it's a real stretch if you want to go back a page (or forward while reading left handed). The "keyboard" itself is also nowhere near as responsive.

Same thing with phones. In the past I could send a text message largely while not even looking just by feeling my way round the buttons. That's not an option now at all. If I want to send a text while I'm walking somewhere to meet a friend I have to stop and stand still, or risk getting run over or something. It's now impossible to play any sort of "proper" game on a phone because it's just impossible without buttons. And if you have to carry around a stylus in order to be able to even use it, doesn't that defeat the purpose somewhat?

Now Microsoft want us to be reaching out and conducting an orchestra with our big, greasy, oversized fingers just to get around windows 8. Can you imagine working all day, trying to type anything other than a short email or a tweet, with only a touch screen to play with?

I can't help but feel that, in general, it's just a massive step back in useability for most cases, all in the name of flashy cool moderndom.

[Rob McCow]

They're quite handy for some things and with Swype especially, I find typing fairly easy. But I do agree that you can't beat a keyboard and mouse for most programs!

[Stuart Wallis]

I'm still struggling to get the hang of them. Perhaps it's the Luddite in me thinking that they're only popular because of the extent to which they've been foisted on us?