TouchsmartIq800
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Hands-on with HP's new HDX laptops and TouchSmart IQ800
We got a look at HP's latest and greatest, and it's a mixed bag. For starters, we just can't stand HP's consumer laptops (not to be confused with the company's rapidly improving business lineup), and the HDX16 and HDX18 seem to revel in all that's wrong about HP's consumer approach -- no matter how many million units they move. The glossy trackpad is difficult to use, the overly-glossy screen is bad enough in press shots, and a downright pain in real life, and the glossy, chrome-ish exterior is gaudy and over the top -- did we mention glossy? It's one of those love-it-or-leave-it affairs, and we really could leave it. The new, larger TouchSmart IQ800 (pictured) has a lot more going for it, and the hardware is quite elegant, but it seems to share many of the problems its touchphone brethren face: the software isn't quite there, and therefore almost might as well not be there at all. Everything seems half-baked, and not ready for full-time use. The display felt a little "dull" to the touch, with a somewhat laggy response, web browsing is difficult and pointless, and the music app puts manual labor back into playlist creation. It's a decent "home screen" for a living room PC, there are some neat, beautiful gimmicks that would be fun to show off to house guests, and all the elements are in place for a really great touchable desktop experience -- we really do want to love this thing -- but HP needs to devote a little more cash and QA time to this side project to get it over the "hump."%Gallery-31977%
HP announces the TouchSmart IQ800 series
The second-gen TouchSmart IQ500s just arrived in July, but HP isn't sitting still -- say hello to the new TouchSmart IQ800 series. Both the new TouchSmart IQ804 and IQ816 feature a 25.5-inch 1920 x 1200 touchscreen with various TouchSmart-specific apps, a TV tuner with remote, integrated webcam, Bluetooth, HP Pocket Media drive bay, and an ambient light to illuminate your keyboard, but the IQ804 confusingly has a higher-clocked 2.16GHz T5850 Core 2 Duo on a 667MHz bus with 2MB of cache while the IQ816 has a 2.10GHz T8100 Core 2 Duo on a 800MHz bus with a 3MB cache -- we'd bet the IQ816 benchmarks faster, regardless of the slightly slower chip. On top of that, the IQ816 also bundles in a Blu-ray drive / dual-layer burner and upgrades the IQ804's GeForce 9300M GS graphics to a GeForce 9600M GS chip. Expect to see the IQ804 on September 21 for $1,899, while you'll have to fork over $2,099 for the IQ816 when it hits on October 12 -- check out a few more shots in the gallery to hold you over till then. %Gallery-31960%
