HP TouchSmart 300 desktop

It’s all the touch, that’s what they say and that’s what HP is saying too! The latest desktop from HP is the TouchSmart series, an all-in-one, family-friendly PC.

Not only is it a beautiful machine, it has serious power and some cool new features, including voice commands.

What I like

The first thing that strikes you about this machine is the look of it; it is very attractive, not one to be hidden away in an office. It is not an invasive desktop either, measuring in at around 20 inches which means you can put it anywhere, even in the kitchen!

I say this because of its useful Recipe Box software which enables you to get recipes off the Internet and organize them for use on later occasions. Its touch screen and interface are very easy to use, which means you won’t have to resort back to a keyboard and mouse.

On top of these design features and useful software additions the TouchSmart is a great little media centre. Its widgets for manipulating photos, media playback and access to applications such as Twitter touch-friendly and responsive.

It has a very decent 640Gb hard drive and, five USB ports, a multicard reader, DVD burner and remote control, for added convenience.

What I don’t like

Now for the bad news. This machine has an amazing 1024 x 768 resolution, but no HDMI port which means you can’t hook up you gaming consoles to it. Its ATI Radeon HD 3200 graphics capabilities don’t make it the best for gaming and the added inconvenience of having no HDMI port gives ait a poor connectivity score.

It can also be a bit slower than previous models.

Summary

Overall this is a fun and useful desktop for a family who would use it more as an interactive multimedia platform. It is perfect for basic computing too, but would not be advisable to hardcore gamers or people who want a really powerful desktop.

Product specifications

• Processor Family: AMD Athlon II X2
• RAM: 4 GB
• Storage Capacity: 320 GB
• Windows 7 compatible
• Graphics Card: ATI Radeon HD 3200
• Primary Optical Drive: Dual-Layer DVD+/-RW
• Monitor Type: LCD Widescreen
• Screen Size: 20 inches

How much does it cost?

You can buy the TouchSmart 300 desktop for around £899.