HP TouchSmart IQ504

One of the cutting-edge advances provided by Windows Vista is the ability to link up a touch screen and make the computer monitor another means of interacting with applications, media and the internet. The same user-friendly touch technology that enables handheld devices like your iPhone or GPS unit has come to the PC and the results are impressive. The touch screen is more than a simple novelty for kicks and giggles. The HP TouchSmart IQ504 demonstrates that the futuristic touch screen is well-suited for the multimedia home PC.

Standout Features

• 22-inch touch screen
• Convenient all-in-one configuration
• Great multimedia feature set—TV tuner, media remote and TVR capability

Features

The all-in-one Mac has graced living rooms and offices across the country for nearly a decade now. The HP TouchSmart IQ504 represents an effort to bring the concept of the all-in-one PC to the mass market. The final product is a well-balanced, jack-of-all-trades PC that will handle the diverse needs of any household. Office work, scheduling, photo editing, HD video, TV recording and general internet use are all well within the HP TouchSmart IQ504’s skill set. The HP TouchSmart IQ504 will save you trips to the computer store, because it comes equipped with all the peripherals: wireless mouse and keyboard, built-in TV tuner, TV remote, onboard webcam and mic along with the fancy 22-inch touch-enabled LCD monitor.

Did we mention the touch-ready, 22-inch widescreen LCD display? Yeah, thought so. It’s a nice touch. The HP TouchSmart IQ504, in addition to the keyboard, mouse, and media remote, gives you the touch screen—an incredibly intuitive way of interacting with your computer. HP’s SmartCenter features touch-based applications that make scheduling, photo editing, leaving messages and navigating media a simple affair of reaching out and touching the screen with your finger. Happily, the HP TouchSmart IQ504 comes equipped with a stylus so you can avoid smudging the screen and get increased accuracy when clumsy fingers just won’t do.

Hardware wise, the HP TouchSmart IQ504 features a decent lineup of midrange goods designed to power everyday apps and computer use. Clocking in at 2GHz, the Intel Core 2 Duo T5750 brings the horsepower to the HP TouchSmart IQ504. The standard 320GB hard drive will take care of storage. 4 GB of RAM powers your multitasking, but at just 667MHz, the RAM is a bit slow for a desktop setup. The HP TouchSmart IQ504 is somewhat underpowered in terms of computing power and speed for its class, but for multimedia and everyday functionality, you won’t be disappointed. Just don’t expect to do heavy duty video editing or next-gen gaming on the HP TouchSmart IQ504.

Summary of Reviews from Across the Internet

Users like the slim and space saving design along with the overall usability. The HP TouchSmart IQ504 features great connectivity—Wi-fi, 5-in-1 card reader, 2 front-side USB ports, and Bluetooth.

The integrated graphics card restrains some video-heavy applications.

Summary

The HP TouchSmart IQ504 brings the true convenience of the all-in-one PC to the home. Everything is set up and ready to go—open the box, and in just a few minutes, you’ll be web surfing, video chatting, working from home, editing photos, watching TV and enjoying multimedia. We like the 22-inch touch screen—it’s a great feature that makes the HP TouchSmart IQ504 a useful and fun addition to any home.