I missed this comment, photog7. Sorry about that!
There is a built in touchpad. It is very popular with many users. I don't like it. It is very sensitive and responsive, and I tend to drag my thumb across it when typing. This results in the cursor moving and causes me a lot of errors. Fortunately there is a function key assigned to enabling/disabling the touchpad.
I use it occasionally when I am just browsing and not typing and need to do some precise pointing and clicking - and it works very well in those cases - but it is rare that I find a reason to use it in this capacity. I just use the touch screen (though I won't mock you for preferring to use a mouse/pointer/touchpad).
Additionally, when docked, you can use the USB host port to hook up an external mouse, if you don't like the touchpad *and* don't like the touch-screen.
And yeah, when you activate the touchpad, there is a regular arrow shaped pointer and it works just like you would expect.
Again, sorry for the delay in responding.