You might think the life of a hardware reviewer is one of playboy bunnies, private jets and suitcases stuffed full of cash, but the reality is a little more mundane. Think of a slightly overweight guy sitting in the dark, benchmarking a piece of hardware that is barely distinguishable from the next, and you’ll have a more realistic version. So when something as unique, not to mention down-right enjoyable, as the HP TouchSmart IQ500 Series PC comes along, you really can’t blame us for turning into gushing fanboys.  

It’s easy to look at the Touchsmart and dismiss it as an iMac wannabe, but you’d be missing the point. That point is the tip of your pointer finger; the beauty of the Touchsmart is the fact that all 22 inches of its screen are touch-sensitive. The touch recognition is pretty accurate as well, allowing us to navigate My Computer without accidentally formatting the hard drive. Occasionally we’d hit the wrong program when playing with the start menu, but after a little practice even this cluttered area became perfectly controllable with our delighted digits.

Not that you’ll be using the Vista interface much. If all you want to do is write basic notes, surf the net, watch TV, play music and browse your happy snaps, you’ll probably utilise the custom HP interface instead. It shares some similarities with Vista’s Media Centre (which is also part of the software install), using an icon based approach that is easy to see from a long distance. This makes it perfect for use from the couch, but you won’t need Inspector Gadget arms to do so – the Touchsmart comes with a media remote. If you’re up nice and close, the real benefit of the custom HP interface becomes apparent, being built with touch control in mind. It shares many of the same features as the iPod touch, such as gesture controlled zooming and rapid scrolling. Considering HP is a PC manufacturer and not an operating system creator, it’s done an admirable job with this custom interface. Combine this fantastic GUI with the accurate touchscreen, and the result is a truly revolutionary computing experience, that isn’t just a bullet point in a PowerPoint presentation. It’s ready to buy right now. As this reviewer can attest, there are people out there who didn’t grow up with a mouse and keyboard (his parents being a golden grey example) and using gestures to control the computer might be just what they need to get past their lack of experience. It worked for Nintendo’s Wii, so there’s a good chance it’ll work for the Touchscreen.

To review this PC based on specs alone wouldn’t be fair, but surprisingly enough, it stacks up pretty well. The 22in monitor is 1,680 x 1,050 resolution, not quite true HD but crisp enough to make your DVDs look great. It’s got a glossy finish, which opens up glare issues but helps reject oily fingerprints as best it can. The inbuilt speakers won’t be shaking the foundations of your abode, but for standard TV viewing they’re more than adequate. Speaking of which, the TV tuner in our model was standard definition rather than true HD, but unless you’re a Blu-ray fiend you probably won’t notice the difference. All 4GB of memory is actually used, thanks to HP’s choice of 64-bit Vista, while the 2.16GHz Core2 Duo chip provided plenty of oomph for day to day needs. It also does it at a temperature cool enough for the PC to remain whisper quiet. The only area that is lacking is the video processor, utilising the NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS chipset. Gamers beware.

We’re big fans of the Touchsmart. It’s a great all-rounder, whose unique interface is as much fun to use as it is worthwhile. Two thumbs up.