msi wind + solderless touchscreen kit = project time!

well, to my geeky delight  i arrived at work today and had a little surprise awaiting me at my desk: my msiwind solderless touchscreen kit!!!



i ordered the kit from ebay after seeing it being posted on the front page over at msiwind.net ( a direct link to Hoda's page is here )

the biggest selling point of this touchscreen kit is the fact that it is solderless and also adds additional internal usb connections for other possible mods (ie integration of a gps dongle or perhaps even an internal 3G card?).

so, how hard was it to install? was it worth it? lets find out! keep reading for the setup notes and a video.



Intro/Prep:

first things first, adding a touchscreen to any kind of computer or device (in this geeks book) is your right of passage as a true modder/geek. so i guess i passed! :)

lately, i've been loving my MSI Wind quite a bit (perhaps a bit too much) and really was looking for the next mod.  touchscreen kits have always interested me (from my carpc and that lilliput screen to my venture into tablet pcs) but adding one on my own sounded like even more fun!

the first thing you'll want to do is unpack your kit and then add the addhesive padding  and 3m tape to the touchscreen.

i left the protect layer on to prevent smudging and scratching the panel and pulled back the edges to put the appropriate tape on and paddding.  BE VERY CAREFUL to not let either go over the grey area in to the center when applying the padding part. one little overlap can affect your digitizer's performance.

then of course remove the usual screws from your wind and pop off that bottom.

Install Notes:

following the guide provided by the manufacturer was pretty easy.  its very straight forward and is more a matter of 'nerves' than it is skill (which always seems to be the case when taking apart a $400 device).

be gentle when trying to get off the hinge caps from the lcd panel; i broke one of mine but plan to fix w/some glue.

be sure to make a note of how the cables are routed prior to taking apart, cable routing took the most time for me and also trying to find the sweet spot for the usb module.

lastly, install the drivers before you try to use! my digitizer was crazy acting and i thought i even installed it wrong, but i installed the driver/utility and its working like a charm! :)

here's a video of it in vista (along w/the origami experience too) OSX vids will be posted later this week.

enjoy!

[youtube VphX6awBXqQ]