The HP Touchsmart 1Q506

What do you get when you cross an iPhone with a computer? Give up yet? Well, you get an HP Touch Smart 1Q506.

This amazing piece of technology is a full-featured touch screen computer. When you're finished drooling over the idea of a touch-screen computer, you can move on to reading the rest of the article.

What is the HP Touch Smart 1Q506?

It is simply beautiful! Have you ever bought an electronic device and taken approximately an hour to admire the craftsmanship that went into building it? I certainly did. After that, I realised that the HP Touch Smart 1Q506 is a high-end PC with touch-screen capabilities.

What all the fuss is about

Well, it is all about style. This device won't win any awards for being the most powerful PC on Earth, but what it lacks in power it makes up for in style. Not to mention the amazing operating system (OS) that revolves around the touch-screen interface. The OS is visually stunning and user-friendly for newcomers and veterans alike.

What it has to offer

I have to admit that I was impressed with the specs sheet for this device. I didn't expect that it would possess so much power. Here are the specs for the HP Touch Smart 1Q506:

Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 (2.16GHz, 2MB L2 Cache)

Memory: 4GB PC2-5300 DDR2 RAM

Hard drive: 500GB 7200RPM SATA

Optical drive: SuperMulti DVD burner

Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce 9300 M GS (256MB dedicated, up to 2GB shared)

Wireless networking: 802.11b/g/n, Bluetooth

Audio: Integrated HD audio, stereo speakers

Five-in-one memory-card reader

5 USB 2.0 ports, 1 firewire

Headphone, line in, line out and digital audio out jacks

Integrated web cam and microphone

Dual-format NTSC/ATSC television tuner

22-inch wide-screen 1680x1050 touch display

Wireless mouse and keyboard

Remote control

Is it worth it?

I'm sorry to say that I can't make up your mind for you, but I can definitely give you the pros and cons for this device.

Pros

Outstanding 22" touch-screen display.

Built-in TV tuner.

Great speakers for an all-in-one device.

Touch Smart software suite is functional and fun to use.

One-button YouTube web cam and video uploads.

Cons

Too many buttons on remote.

Power brick is enormous.

Closing thoughts

I'm not afraid to experiment with new electronics and sometimes it's a gamble to buy a product you know nothing about. Considering what the HP Touch Smart 1Q506 has to offer, I would take the risk.

Products mentioned in this article were provided courtesy of Royale Computers and Accessories telephone#: 906-1067, 906-1068, and 754-5048. Email comments tosaturdaylife@gleanerjm.com.