kingtj's Full Review: Hewlett Packard TouchSmart IQ504 (KQ436AA#ABA) PC ...
I recently purchased one of these from a local Office Depot store, because they had it on clearance (and I got them to come down another 15% on the sale price, when I found out the floor model was the only one left in stock).
The HP TouchSmart IQ504 makes a good "general purpose" home computer. The integrated Intel graphics are probably its weakest feature, making it practically worthless as a "gaming computer" with the latest 3D shooter titles and so forth. But on the plus side, they do at least meet Microsoft's minimum requirements for Vista's "Aero" special effects to function - so Vista will look optimal on it.
The biggest defining feature of this PC is obviously its 22" touch-screen display. As a rule, touch-screen computers haven't ever really caught on, largely because it's an awkward way to interact with a computer for any length of time. Nobody likes taking their hands completely off the mouse and keyboard to hold them straight out in front of them, to select things on a monitor (and getting fingerprints all over it in the process!). HP seems to have taken this all into account though, positioning the touch-screen functionality as more of as "casual way to interact with the computer" at times when you wouldn't otherwise be using it at all. Their custom software toolbar encourages people to touch the screen as they walk by to see a quick weather report, or perhaps to select a song or music album to listen to. "Ambient mood lighting" is even a feature of the PC, reinforcing the concept that you should leave it on all the time, as sort of an "appliance". You can't avoid the fingerprints, but they do at least include a microfiber cleaning cloth in the box!
Other than the lack-luster video card, the system configuration seems respectable. You get a 7200RPM 320GB SATA hard drive and an Intel Core 2 Duo 2.0Ghz processor, and the included Windows Vista version is Home Premium, not a stripped down "Basic" edition. The optical drive is a dual-layer DVD+/-RW recorder, and the mouse and keyboard are both wireless (each running on a set of AA batteries). 4GB of system memory is included too, which should be sufficient for anything you'd want to run on this type of PC.
In everyday use, Vista felt responsive and fluid, and programs like Microsoft Office launched fairly quickly. I did notice a bit of "lag" or unresponsiveness when trying to move through items on the HP touch-screen toolbar application. I suspect the higher-end versions of the TouchSmart (which have faster processors and better video in them) eliminate some of this.
One thing I disliked (although it's typical with HP) is that restore/recovery CDs or DVDs aren't included. Instead, they partition the hard drive so there's a "recovery partition" on it, and they provide a utility to burn your own restore DVDs. All too often, I see people put that procedure off and then a hard drive fails - leaving them stranded. Even when people ARE diligent in making the recovery discs, sometimes recordable DVDs don't record quite right, or get easily damaged over time, so they're not reliable when needed.
Overall, I realize there aren't a lot of touch-screen capable PCs on the market, so this fills a special niche. If you can find one of these on a good discount because it's a clearance, refurbished, etc. - it may be worth getting. On the other hand, higher-end versions are going to be worth the extra money for some people, since they include things like a TV tuner, faster version of the processor and superior video card. Since this is an "all in one" computer, you can't expect to upgrade much in it (the SATA hard drive probably being an exception), so you need to make sure it meets all of your needs "out of the box".
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 839.99 Operating System: Windows Processor: Other Processor speed: over 1000 RAM: More than 256 Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD Hard Drive (GB): Over 50
All-in-one multimedia PC with integrated 22-inch touchscreen for living room or kitchen 2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 processor, 320 GB hard drive, 4...More at Amazon Marketplace
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2010 Shopping.com, Inc.