If, as Rita Mae Brown once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results” and HP’s dedication to TouchSmart is KAAA-RAYYYY-ZEEE! Their two latest models, the 610 and the 9300, will cost about $1,000 (the 610 is $900) and feature large touchscreens that slide down to create a nearly flat surface.
I, personally, have never seen the value of these outside of kiosk environment but God bless HP for trying. → Read More
HP announced their latest desktop systems today, including a new consumer level all-in-one system, and a new business desktop. They also released the latest specs on their TouchSmart line, which will now be available with the Intel Core i3 and i5 CPUs. All of HP’s new systems are made without BFR/PVC products in the plastic, and the All-in-One is the first desktop to be made this way. → Read More
Short version: HP’s TouchSmart 600 isn’t the perfect solution for a touchscreen based home computer, but it comes pretty damn close. The TouchSmart system works well as an internet home appliance, but the thing that makes it special is also where it starts to show some problems. → Read More
Hewlett Packard refreshed their TouchSmart line of computers today. If you’re not familiar with these, imagine an iMac all in one computer that has a touch screen, and you’re most of the way there.
I really like the TouchSmart line, and use a second generation machine as my main Windows test computer. The touch interface is done via infrared, which is a very cost effective way of creating a touch interface on a large screen. Microsoft, in fact, uses it in their experimental TouchWall product that can make a touch screen of virtually any size wall (more TouchWall footage).
Overall I give the TouchScmart top marks – the only drawback is that it is inexplicably heavy at something like 60 lbs., and no one seems to know why. But since it sits on your desk, it’s not like you’re lifting it very often, so it doesn’t really matter.
But the machine is still all wrong. Anyone who has used one for a long time will tell you that they quickly revert to using the keyboard and mouse. And it isn’t because of the software or touch technology – both are fine. → Read More
Convergence. That’s the word that comes to mind when I watch the fancy demonstration of the HP Photosmart Premium TouchSmart web printer. We’ve all seen the all-in-one PC design, a la the iMac, but how often do we see a printer and a computer in one package? HP is bundling a teeny little touch-interface computer with their latest set of printers, allowing you to access stuff from the Internet without using your PC at all! Some of the examples don’t seem particularly useful: I don’t think I’m likely to go to my printer when I want to buy movie tickets, for example, but letting kids print out their own coloring books seems like a pretty good idea to me. And printing Google Maps will be helpful for those Luddite friends of mine who don’t have GPS units. → Read More
It’s hard to beat the sex appeal of HP’s TouchSmart PC. It has 4GB of Ram, a 500GB hard drive, 802.11 b/g/n, and of course that large 22-inch touchscreen with HP’s proprietary software suite. To bad Vista is at the core but you could always upgrade that to Win7 RC. → Read More
You know the HP TouchSmart? It’s a neat bit of work—that is, it has to potential to be. That potential is now one step closer to reality given that HP has just opened it up to third-party development. Would-be developers need to sashay over to the TouchSmart Community. There you’ll find the necessary software to develop your fancy application. I think it’s fairly obvious from the above few sentences that I don’t have a developer bone on my body. via Slashdot → Read More
Announced last month at HP’s Connecting Your World conference in Berlin (Peter was there), the HP TouchSmart iQ504 and iQ506 PCs are now available for purchase. Suggested retail pricing is $1,299 for the iQ504 and $1,499 for the iQ506, but you can find them for about a hundred bucks less on Amazon.com and they’re also available at plenty of other retailers. → Read More
