DzPhotography said:
so out with the swivel LCD and in with the touch screen? replacing one gimmick by another
Somebody better tell Apple that their iPad is one big touch screen gimmick. You may not have noticed, but the world is going touch screen, including Windows 8. My Sony camcorder from 2004 has a swivel LCD with a touch screen. This is not new technology and it is far more intuitive than trying to navigate around with buttons which is like using your keyboard when your mouse dies on your computer.
As far as the swivel being a gimmick, I use a T3i at work to photograph industrial equipment and I use one for personal use. I find the gimmick rather useful, enough so that I specifically chose the T3i over the T2i for that reason. You may not use it all the time, but when you are taking photos high or low or if the tripod is backed into a corner where you can't get behind the camera, the swivel is very useful. Adding the touch screen will add to this because when the camera is in a position that makes the swivel convenient, it means the back of the camera is at an odd angle that is hard to operate where the screen would be facing the operator.