Asus Eee Top 1602 is touchscreen desktop computer

Having shaken up the laptop market with the launch of its Eee PC netbooks, Asus is now launching an innovative desktop machine called the Eee Top 1602.

This has an iMac-style design - in the sense that the computer is built into the 15.6-inch widescreen display - but the big news is that this display is a touchscreen.

Before you get too excited, we should point out that this screen is single-rather than multi-touch compatible (one finger at a time, please), but that's better than nothing.

Inside you'll find an Intel Atom N270 processor and a 160GB hard drive, while the presence of four USB 2.0 ports means that you could easily plug in an audio interface and controller keyboard. There's no FireWire connection, though.

The Eee Top 1602 ships with Windows XP Home and costs £449. It looks like more of a lifestyle PC than a serious music production system, but it could show the way forward for desktop computers, and its release will serve to increase speculation that we'll see a touchscreen Eee PC netbook next year.