HP TouchSmart 600 Video

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HP TouchSmart 600
Created: 10/12/2009
Video description: HP's new TouchSmart 600 takes advantage of Windows 7's multitouch capability better than any other new all-in-one we've seen this fall. Between strong touch software and a host of digital entertainment options, it might just be the self-contained home entertainment PC you've been looking for.

HP TouchSmart 600 Video Transcript

[ Music ] ^M00:00:07

>> Hi. I'm Rich Brown, Senior Editor for CNET.com. Today we're gonna take a look HP TouchSmart 600. So this is HP's first Windows 7-based all in one. It comes with multi-touch functionality and all kinds of other features. We're gonna go through some of them here. We've definitely will not hit all of them though, so be sure to read the full review online for the full scoop on this system. So this particular configuration cost about 1,600 bucks. You can configure it online with various different components driving the price up or down, depending. This config, though, comes with a Blu-ray drive, a dual core in Intel chip, as well as 750-gigabyte hard drive. Now, in our performance tests we actually found this system was not as fast as some of its other all-in-one competitors in this price. Fortunately for HP, there's a lot more going on with this system outside of its performance. So one of the things this system is particularly well suited for is video. We mentioned it comes with the Blu-ray drive. There's also a TV tuner, and like we've seen from Sony, there's a dedicated input for HDMI at the top, as well as a set of composite video and audio ports. There's a button up here that lets you swap very easily between those three inputs. That means you can plug a camcorder, a game console, even a cable box into the system and swap between the various sources really easily. Now, the other notable feature of this system is its touch input. Now, we're gonna see a lot of all in ones this season following the launch of Windows 7 that have touch or multi-touch capability. That's really not unique. What is cool, though, for this system is its software. So we don't have time to go over every app that HP has designed for touch with this system, but we can show you one of the highlights, which is the recipe box. So you have a pretty simple interface here. You notice the button down there that says, "Browse for a recipe." Click the button; it takes you to a web browser. So once we get to a browser, we can go to almost any food site. We've tried Epicurious, Martha Stewart, Food Network. There's a few that don't work, but the big ones seem to. Now, on one of those sites, when you get to a recipe, you can click the extract recipe button and then the software automatically formats the recipe into a touch-friendly interface. You can see here, I can scroll up through the ingredients. So you can see over here, there's this "enable speech commands" button. I check it off and say, "Beginning."

>> Six large eggs.

>> Now, the voice activation isn't perfect. Sometimes you have to repeat a command. It does a really hear other people. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, depending. But even without the voice software, we think this system is the best kitchen PC we've seen so far. Now, there are few other apps in the touch carousel we should point out. HP has partnered with Netflicks, Hulu, and Twitter to design interfaces for those services, most of which are pretty useful. Fortunately, HP has a wall-mounting capabilities built into the system. You can take the back off, as well as the stand; hook it up to any base or standard wall mount. There are few other features we like around the system. The web cam has a nice little lever in the back here that lets you change the angle. That's unique for an all-in-one. Up until now, we've been a little bit skeptical of the touch interface. The software hasn't really been compelling enough to make us recommend it. Now, there's still more work to be done, but between the recipe software and the various partnerships HP has put together for the system, this is actually at touch-based system we'd feel comfortable recommending. So I'm Rich Brown. This is the HP TouchSmart 600. ^M00:02:59 [ Music ]

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HP TouchSmart 600 Review

The good: Matches Sony in capability to connect and switch between external video sources easily; Recipe Box touch program best kitchen app we've seen; smart touch app partnerships with Hulu, Twitter, and Netflix; loud enough to fill a room.

The bad: Slow performance; touch input suffers from occasional unresponsiveness.

The bottom line: If HP's TouchSmart 600 won't at least get you thinking about the idea of bringing a PC into your kitchen, the concept truly has no hope. With well-thought-out touch apps, a wide, easy-to-use array of digital media features, and an attractive, flexible design, HP's new all-in-one is not the fastest new all-in-one, but it has the most comprehensive and compelling set of features of any all-in-one launching alongside Windows 7.

Read full review

HP TouchSmart 600 Specs

Manufacturer: HP
Part number: AW023AV#ABA

Product Specifications
  • Product Specifications

  • Product Basic Spec

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