HP TouchSmart IQ504
Desktops Buying Guide
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October 29, 2008 02:45
4.5/5
It was so easy to use that I could not help but download some music (it figured out what album the songs were from and labeled them for me) and family photos (just touch one to fill the screen or swipe your finger to scroll through the album).
The wireless mouse and keyboard allow for lots of movement around my desk and there's even a light under the screen to make it easier to see the keyboard-brightness is switchable. It has Bluetooth built in, which I thought I'd never use, and after linking my phone found it is super easy to upload/download pictures and music.
No cables or other connections required: one plug for power to the computer and that would be it if my printer had a wireless link. It doesn't so I actually have TWO wires running through the built-in cable management system. You should have seen the back of all my previous computers.
I actually bought this the first time I saw it in the store and replaced a desktop that had not melted down yet. I am very, very happy with it. -
August 15, 2008 10:08
3.5/5
We just bought this 2 weeks ago, and it was almost perfect, i love it. Used it everyday... But this past few days it's been freezing a lot, even if I'm just browsing my pictures. I tried Ctrl+Alt+Del but it won't work unless i unplug the cord. I'm just running one program and it would just stop there and not respond.
One other problem is that I can't burn dvd from my camcorder, i did everything right i'm sure of it. I knew something was wrong, so I called the HP Tech support and they found out that the memory is BAD. So they suggested that i go back to BestBuy and replace IT!
I'll probably get the same thing because I just love this Touchsmart. We'll see if it's gonna work for me. -
August 6, 2008 09:02
Excellent
2.0/5
Hopefuly HP will work on this model and release a better version to the market soon. -
July 17, 2008 10:11
4.5/5
I have had this PC for only three days, but remain wowed by HP's execution. From setup (easy and intuitive; far fewer wires than a traditional desktop) through operation (responsive and stable), my early experience has truly been a joy.
The 22" touchscreen display is extremely bright, vivid, and crisp. The touchscreen functionality itself takes advantage of Vista's "baked in" tablet PC functionality. As a longtime tablet user, this is the first implementation and integration of the Vista tablet functionality on a desktop that I am aware of. The touchscreen functionality clearly works best with HP's own "TouchSmart" application shell. This shell has been designed to work well with touchscreen functionality and provides an easy-to-use interface to music, video, calendar, photo, and game applications (among others). There's even a specialized TouchSmart web browser, though it appears to have limited utility to those web pages that HP has specifically designed to take advantage of the TouchSmart shell. This might appear alarming, but you still have full and complete access outside of TouchSmart to traditional browsers such as IE, Firefox, or Safari.
I have no problems to report with the integration of my existing peripherals, including a Netgear wireless router, a Canon Pixma multifunction printer, and external speakers and subwoofer. Setup of all of these truly was "plug and play." I also really like the wireless keyboard and mouse that HP bundles with the TouchSmart.
The only problem I've encountered is installation of Nikon's Transfer application (for transfer of digital photos from my wife's Coolpix camera). Each of three installation attempts ended with an Install Wizard error message. I think I have discovered the reason: I must install this application with Vista administrative privileges and not as a standard user. I will re-attempt installation in this mode. This, obviously, is a comparatively minor issue.
Overall and as an IT professional, I am surprised even by my own enthusiastic reaction. Over time, the "wow" or "gee-whiz" moments with PC technology have become fewer and farther between for me. The HP TouchSmart is an exception to this. For general purpose home computing (it's not a gaming platform or a high-end engineering workstation), it merits your serious consideration.
