TouchSmart IQ500 PC, Designed for Fun

Here are some of the most important specifications of TouchSmart IQ500 PC. The processor is an Intel Core 2 Duo 75850 with a clock speed of 2.26 GHz. It has a very large, 500 GB high-performance hard disk. Such a storage device should have ample space to keep our photos, music libraries and videos. The total memory is 4 GB, and the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS graphics processor unit has 256 MB of dedicated video memory. The combination seems to work very well. The system’s Windows Experience Index is an incredible 4.5 — far exceeding what I think a mainstream family PC should have.

The raw power is necessary to run Windows Vista Home Premium and the HP TouchSmart software with no hesitation. The IQ500 is designed for fun. Fun, of course, requires great performance.

Like the Eee PC, the IQ500 also features a touch screen. The IQ500 has a Digital Signal Processor, which enables it to receive signals from the sensors that detect any optical object such as our finger or stylus. HP has had touch technology since 1983.

The touch capability on the IQ500 is not at all disappointing. The pointer jumps immediately to any point where the tip of my finger, even the tip of my nail, touches the capacitive surface of the screen. I can drag and spin the tiles in HP TouchSmart much like we do on an iPod or an iPhone. To make things clear, “TouchSmart” is the name of both the PC line and the software installed on it.

In addition to the half-terabyte storage, the IQ500 has a slot-type DVD player. The position is a bit awkward as we cannot really see it. We also have to remember to insert the platter with the label facing us.

What impresses most of all is the stunning 22-inch wide screen. With a resolution of 1680x1050, it produces awesome colors that remain saturated even when we look at it from a very broad angle.

The speakers, located below the screen, are not too bad, although because of the lack of space for the sound waves to reverberate they are incapable of producing deep bass. Still, it was enjoyable to listen to Marilyn Horne singing “Mon coeur s’ouvre a ta voix,” an aria from Saint-Saens’ Samson et Dalila. It was quite nice background music to accompany me as I worked on this review.

The IQ500 is clearly intended to make computer-averse users feel comfortable. The HP TouchSmart software, which has been developed by HP and is implemented only on the HP TouchSmart PCs, is provided to make every activity as intuitive as possible. I must admit that they did an excellent job.

Like the cool-looking iMac and ASUS Eee Top, the entire CPU is placed on the back of the display. The tight integration gets rid of the need for dust-gathering cables. Even the keyboard and the mouse are cordless. By the way, the HP TouchSmart application can also be operated with a supplied remote control. There is a problem with the remote control, though: It has too many buttons and functions.

This PC has Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. It is designed to require only one cable, which is the power cable. Plug it in, and you’re set. The power adapter, which is as big as a brick, is external. Incidentally, the Webcam is superb. It produces better images than many of the others that I have tested.

The IQ500 is not entirely perfect. For example, I think every all-in-one PC must have a foldable carrying handle on top to make it easy to move it from one corner of the living room to another. The IQ500 does not have one. Besides, pulling the supporting legs at the back also requires a bit of force, and the first time I did it I thought I had broken the hinge.

Personally, the user experience is pretty close to what an iMac would give us. Even IQ500’s thin keyboard is an iMac keyboard look-alike and feel-alike. But, with its aluminum body, the iMac is prettier. Some features such as iPhoto and iLife are still without any matches on the Windows side yet, although the TouchSmart interface that HP has developed for this PC deserves a lot of accolade.

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