HP should be given the credit to be the first windows desktop vendor to come up with a touch based all in one PC, the HP Touch Smart IQ816. The large 25.5-inch display makes the HP Touch Smart IQ816 the largest mainstream all-in-one PC available. The PC comes loaded with HP’s custom TouchSmart software. The TouchSmart software is anchored by a full screen icon-based display menu that lets the user scroll through the TouchSmart applications. The core of the TouchSmart software suite includes applications like photo viewer, music and video players, weather application, a calendar, a note taking and a painting tool. Each of these applications is easy to use and the user just has to spare a few seconds to access them.
A built in Blu-ray player and a TV tuner makes the HP Touch Smart IQ816 as a digital media hub. The PC also has an LED light, with three different brightness settings that shine down from the bottom edge to illuminate the wireless keyboard in the dark. There is always a lack of upgradeability in all-in-ones, so HP included a spare drive bay on the top of one of the proprietary removable Pocket Media hard drives of the HP Touch Smart IQ816. A webcam too is located on the front at the center on the top edge. The PC is power packed with a 750 GB hard drive.
The inputs to the PC include a media card reader, USB 2.0 ports, a single FireWire mini jack, etc. The user will also find an Ethernet adapter input. The system comes with 802.11n wireless networking, Bluetooth and a built-in receiver for IR. The place where HP has probably gone wrong is the selection of a slow Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 /2.1GHz laptop CPU for the system. But overall, the PC is not really on the slower front. HP backs the TouchSmart IQ816 with a one year parts and labor warranty and 24-7 toll-free phone service. As with all other HP products, features like expanded support options, driver downloads, online support chat are also a part of the TouchSmart IQ816 package.
At a price range of $1,922.63 – $2,099.99, the HP Touch Smart IQ816 is not a very cheap PC option and may perform like a $600 desktop. But the touch features combined with the largest available LCD screen make HP Touch Smart IQ816 a new and wonderful experience.
