Hp Touchsmart Iq508a Desktop Computer

The Age

Thursday July 10, 2008

Dan Kaufman

HP Touchsmart IQ508A Desktop Computer

$2499

3.5/5

hp.com.au

If you want your PC to act like an iPod Touch, then HP's TouchSmart might be for you. Its touch-sensitive screen allows you to use your fingers to select items and scroll through menus. Unfortunately this can be tricky in standard Windows Vista applications, where the screen icons are often small. Yet the touch screen does work

well with HP's bundled TouchSmart software, which lets you access music, photos, videos, a calendar as well as scrawl digital Post-It style notes. The TouchSmart is an all-in-one desktop computer that, as with an iMac, packs the motherboard, DVD burner, hard drive and other key components behind a large flat screen that is supported by a metallic stand, plus has a web cam hidden above the screen. Unlike an iMac, or most PCs, the TouchSmart also has a built-in antennae socket and TV tuner, allowing you to watch TV programs as well as record them onto its 500GB hard drive.

Perhaps the TouchSmart's oddest feature is Ambient Light, which lets light be projected from the bottom of the monitor. Yet the only real advantage is that you can see the keyboard in the dark.

Design-wise, the TouchSmart seems impressive but it's not as sleek as the iMac. It's thicker on the side, despite having an external power adaptor the size of a brick; it has so many stickers that it reminded us of a NASCAR vehicle; and the 55.9cm screen sits just above the table and isn't height adjustable.

The TouchSmart's Intel Core Duo processor runs at 2.16GHz, fast enough for most applications. It also has 4GB of memory and an nVidia GeForce 9300M-GS graphics card. A general purpose centre, the TouchSmart also suits those who want to use their PC to record TV shows. For those who prefer to wait for TiVo, there's the $1999 IQ505a model that doesn't have the tuner. -- DAN KAUFMAN

© 2008 The Age

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