HP TouchSmart IQ505a PC (Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor 2.0GHz, 4GB RAM)

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By Craig Simms, CNET.com.au
Jun 20, 2008

This is HP's second-generation touchscreen PC, a great improvement on its first iteration. The new form factor, for a start, pushes into panel PC territory and looks a treat. HP's byword for the TouchSmart seems to be "simplicity".

Editors' note :

This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com.au. 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.

Design

Mounted around the front of the 22-inch, 1,680 x 1,050 screen is a built in Webcam, as well as a speaker grill along the bottom edge, and a single Home button above this which launches HP's custom touch interface. Setup is just as minimal--simply plug in the power adapter, sync the Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and you're away.

One minor niggle is that the keyboard is too simple. We'd love to see an indicator light on the keyboard--any kind of light, whether power, caps lock or otherwise--as when there's issues connecting to the PC it's difficult to ascertain whether it's a battery issue, or a Bluetooth synching issue. To confuse things further, even when the keyboard is not connected to the PC and the batteries are removed, HP's system tray tool will happily tell you your keyboard is at 100 percent charge.

Otherwise both keyboard and mouse are fine. The five-button mouse in particular is pleasant to use. The integrated speakers are significantly better than normal fare, too. Considering the thinness of the unit, this makes us wonder why monitor manufacturers have had such issues incorporating decent ones while HP doesn't bat an eyelid. It's most likely a costing issue in the case of the monitors; however, if that's the case, you'd think they'd cut the feature and focus on improving quality elsewhere. But we digress.

On the left-hand side of the panel arises a curiosity--a button that lights up a white fluorescent tube under the monitor so you can see in the dark when you type. This can be switched off or cycled through three levels of brightness. Underneath this button is two USB ports, a headphone and line-in jack, while further back under a removable panel are three more USB ports, an Ethernet jack, digital audio-out (in the form of an RCA jack) and audio line-out. The opposite side features the power button, a DVD�RW drive, volume controls, SD/MMC/MS/xD-Picture Card reader and a FireWire port, while internally Bluetooth and 802.11n are offered.

The screen is raised slightly off desk level, allowing the keyboard to be neatly tucked underneath and effectively hidden from sight. Unfortunately, it's not quite high enough to admit a keyboard that has had its legs extended--you'll have to tuck them in before pushing it through.

Features

A point of annoyance--upon first load the TouchSmart continuously made the Windows "Start navigation" noise (the click sound that's made, for example, when you open a page in Internet Explorer). While we worked around it by switching off the Start navigation effect in the Sound control panel, we had less luck finding the rogue application that was the cause of the noise, something that's hopefully fixed soon.

While the TouchSmart uses Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit for its operating system, it also has HP's own touch interface available for use--and is quite enjoyable to use. While it understands only basic multitouch, it's otherwise quite fun and, for the most part, well-thought out. Things can get a little laggy, especially when using the calendar for booking appointments, and we can only assume this is either because it features a completely underpowered Intel GMA 3000 as the graphics card or doesn't support GPU acceleration at all.

The touchscreen beeps whenever you touch it--a low pitch for one finger, a higher one for two. This can be turned off if found annoying and, interestingly, doesn't beep at all when using HP's TouchSmart interface, only in Windows Vista.

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