HP TouchSmart PC (AMD Turion 64 X2 TL-52 1.6GHz processor, 2GB RAM)

By Rich Brown
Jan 25, 2007

If Apple announces a touchscreen iMac, we may have to reconsider this review. Until that happens, HP's new US$2,499 (S$3,845.96) TouchSmart PC is our all-in-one family PC of choice. You probably wouldn't want to make it your main PC for doing serious work or playing games, as even with fewer features than the TouchSmart PC, the iMac is still more well-rounded. But if you're looking for a desktop computer to act as a media hub that also has easy-to-use tools to organize your busy family life, we know of no better system on the market.

Editors' note : This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia. Please check directly with your local distributor for details. The street price of the Asia-Pacific model is US$2,499 (S$3,845.96). The review below was altered accordingly.

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In addition to its own unique design and features, the HP TouchSmart PC has the distinction of being the first Windows Vista desktop we've reviewed. It uses Vista Home Premium, which means that in addition to the core operating system, you also get the Windows Media Center interface, the touchscreen capability (which HP uses to great effect), as well as the Aero Glass visual effects, among other things. Rather than shoehorning an operating system review into a desktop story, (Vista will be getting plenty of its own coverage shortly, don't worry), we'll simply say that HP is doing Microsoft a great service with this system. The TouchSmart PC is a convincing showcase for the new features Vista brings to the table.

Not the first all-in-one
HP is certainly not the first major vendor to offer an all-in-one desktop. Both Gateway and Sony (and arguably Dell) have all-in-ones, but as slick as some of them have been, none has approached the elegance of Apple's iMac. The same is true of the HP TouchSmart PC, but its display also has a more flexible range of motion than any current all-in-one. That makes more of a difference than you might think. When you position the glossy, 19-inch widescreen LCD (1,440 x 900 native resolution) at its lowest pivot point, the TouchSmart PC looks remarkably compact and unobtrusive. It's easy to imagine keeping it in a kitchen, an office or a den. But pull the screen out and tilt it upward, and it takes on the appearance of a futuristic terminal. In this position, the TouchSmart PC practically begs you to touch it, which is exactly the idea.

Touchscreen capability is one of Windows Vista Home Premium's many new features, and we commend HP for taking advantage of it so quickly and implementing it in the TouchSmart PC in such an intuitive manner. You can use either your finger or an included stylus (which you store in a slot on the top of the screen) to drive the Windows cursor around the screen. HP includes a wireless mouse and keyboard, which work well enough, but once you pick the stylus up, it immediately feels comfortable. We suspect that many users will leave the keyboard stored in its slot beneath the display the majority of the time. Windows Vista includes configuration software for setting the touchscreen sensitivity and customizing the double-click and drag-and-drop strokes, and using the basic PC functions this way is easy enough if not as quick as with a mouse. HP puts the touchscreen to better use in its SmartCenter program, a custom application in which HP uses Vista's touchscreen capability to make the TouchSmart PC shine as a family computer.

Combined with a HP portable printer, the TouchSmart PC becomes a neo print station. (Click for larger image)

HP's stylus-driven SmartCenter
Designed to be driven entirely with the stylus (or your finger, if you don't mind greasing up the screen), SmartCenter combines a handful of day-to-day applications into an amazingly easy-to-use package. The default application set includes a calendar, a photo editing application, and a basic local weather display. The weather program delivers a very basic feed from Weather.com (almost too basic), but the SmartCalendar and Photosmart Touch image-editing software are both very useful, as well as easy to use. The calendar includes virtual Post-It-style notes that you can write on with the stylus. You can leave them on the main screen, or drag them to a specific date and time on the calendar. You can use the keyboard to type notes as well, and a virtual keyboard interface lets you poke out letters with the stylus directly on the calendar itself. HP also includes voice-recording capability, and lets you attach a voice message to a note, and it couldn't be simpler to use. All you need to do is hit the record a message button, press the big record button that pops up on the screen, say your message, then press the button again to stop. We can easily imagine a busy family using the SmartCalendar as a organizational hub to keep track of various members' comings and goings.

The Photosmart Touch editing software is easy to master. Also a stylus-driven application, Photosmart Touch has basic cropping functions, as well as a red-eye remover. You can then print your images directly from the applicatoin. This is another reason we like the TouchSmart PC. It can work like a photo kiosk. If you use it in conjunction with HP's Photosmart A510 and A610 printers, you can hide one of those printers behind the display where it will sit atop the TouchSmart PC's base (which also houses the guts of the system). This space-saving design hides the printer except for its output slot, which lines up in the space below the screen. The effect is very much like having your own photo kiosk at home, and it puts the design of the system's chassis to very effective use.

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