Touch technology help non-tech industries improve business, efficiency, and their bottom lines.

The SMART Table brings touch to masses and classes. Photo: SmartTech

We all oohed and aahed when Apple's (AAPL) iPhone came out because of how cool it was, especially its multi-touch capability that let us flick through photos and "pinch" and expand photos and websites.

Now, with Microsoft (MSFT) Windows 7 specially formatted for touch capabilities, and everyone from manufacturers to hotels touting their tough capabilities, we know human contact with computer screens is more than a gimmick — it’s here to stay.

Touch is already a big business — estimates indicate that sales will be more than $3.66 billion for this year and will catapult 145% to almost $10 billion in the next five years.

Only half of that revenue is coming from consumer electronics (i.e. cell phones, digital frames, etc.) — the rest is from retail, hospitality and more. What many people forget is that this 30-year-old technology has been integrated in non-tech industries for years — mainly as a way to improve efficiency, but never as a centerpiece.

So, we decided to take a look at the best of the rest and highlight the most innovative, business-savvy ways other industries are implementing touch technology — and helping improve their bottom line. More

Gene Munster, Piper Jaffray's chief Apple analyst, issued a report to clients Thursday offering his take on 15 "unanswered questions" about Apple's Mac, iPod, iPhone and retail businesses. Much of it covers territory that will be familiar to Apple (AAPL) watchers, but one point struck me as new.

It has to do with Apple's Multi-Touch technology, which Munster describes as a fully-protected "core differentiator" of Apple's products.

Munster believes that the Multi-Touch gestures pioneered on the iPhone and recently added to the MacBook Air and Pro, are "just the beginning of Apple's exploration of Multi-Touch on the Mac." Eventually, Munster says, those gesture controls will work their way from MacBook's trackpad, where they currently reside, to the backlit screen, for "a more dynamic user interface for the Mac."

A touchscreen MacBook — the so-called MacBook Touch — was something many Apple enthusiasts hoped would be announced at MacWorld this year. Gizmodo last November ran a contest inviting users to imagine what an Apple Tablet computer would look like. You can see the winner, and 20 other notable entries, here.

Munster shares Gizmodo's enthusiasm for such a device, but doesn't expect to see one anytime soon. He writes:

"Ultimately we expect Apple to develop a full touch-screen MacBook, although not until the technology has fully matured over the next 3-5 years."

[Photoshop rendition of a MacBook Touch by Logan Lape, Gizmodo. Posted with permission.]

Two items Apple (AAPL) watchers had expected Steve Jobs to unveil at Macworld — a 16 GB iPhone and a new MacBook Pro — could be coming out any day now, if inventory lists at the company's partners are to be believed.

Engadget reports that tipsters with access to the retail inventory computers at AT&T Wireless stores have spotted listings for a 16 GB iPhone — something iPhone aficionados have been waiting for since the 16 GB iPod touch was released last fall. An update posted by Engadget at 4:25 a.m. suggests the release could come as early as this morning:

We just received word from multiple sources that the O2 staff has been notified of the 16GB iPhone launch at 1:30pm UK time. Price: £329. That will likely translate to $599 in the US like the original 8GB iPhone. (link)

Meanwhile MacRumors, which last week passed along an unconfirmed report that three new MacBook Pro models had appeared in Best Buy's inventory tracking system, has provided screen shots to back up that claim. They show an in-stock date of Feb. 10 and three price points ($1999, $2499, $2799) that are the same as the current MacBook Pros. The new models are expected to have multi-touch trackpads and Intel Penryn chips.

The reports have led some to speculate that Apple may have timed the new releases to pump up sales in Apple's second quarter, traditionally the slowest for PCs. Apple's stock price could use a boost, having dropped nearly 30 points since the company issued its conservative Q2 earnings projections.

Others speculate that the late release of the 16 GB iPhone means that they will have to wait a bit longer for a 3G iPhone.