By The HP TouchSmart 310-1000z ($1,159 direct) pushes touchscreen use to the next level. The all-in-one touchscreen desktop’s fourth version of the TouchSmart interface intelligently replaces the vanilla Windows 7 interface with a touch-oriented playground that finally shows normal people what you can do with touchscreens on a PC. It’s not a perfect touchscreen interface (yet), but this version finally pushes the user to do more than just “poking” around. While a base version of the TouchSmart 310 can start as low as $700, this upgraded version hits the sweet spot between savings and performance. As such, we award it with our first PCMag Editors’ Choice award specifically for touchscreen all-in-one desktop PCs.
Best comptia A+ Training, Comptia A+ Certification at Certkingdom.com
Design and Features
The TouchSmart 310-1000z follows the current conventions for all-in-one desktops. It has a black plastic design with a speaker bar beneath a 16:9 screen and a Webcam above the screen. The 310 breaks a little from tradition by providing a shelf under the screen to store the wireless keyboard. The shelf isn’t deep enough to completely swallow the keyboard, but it will give you a few extra square inches back on your desk. The system has a good tilt mechanism, so you can find a comfortable position while computing, and the hinge seems sturdy (it doesn’t wobble after you let go of the screen after repositioning). The 310-1000z sports a 20-inch widescreen with a 1,600 by 900 resolution. That’s less than the 1,920 by 1,080 resoluiton “true 1080p” screens seen on other all-in-one desktops, but the lower resolution doesn’t hinder its likeability.
The desktop comes with a 1TB, 7,200rpm drive, which is great for download enthusiasts, as well as those who want to use the TouchSmart 310-1000z as a DVR. The system has a built-in ATSC/HDTV tuner, along an IR blaster, so it can control an external set top box. This almost makes up for missing HDMI-in, since you can use the digital tuner with a cable or satellite box. I’d like to see HDMI ports on all-in-one desktop PCs, since HDMI-in allows you to use them with an external set top box like a cable company DVR, but it’s not a deal breaker at this price point. Live TV is integrated into the system’s Windows 7 Media Center interface. I’d like to see HP include a remote for TV surfing, but with a 20-inch screen you’d want to sit close to the PC anyway.
Specifications
The TouchSmart 310 comes with the fourth iteration of HP’s TouchSmart interface, and it’s a beauty. It uses a bulletin board-like motif, so you can “tack” or “magnet” stuff like pictures or videos to the screen. The screen and wallpaper background use parallax scolling, so stuff tacked to the wall seems to float along in a different plane from the background when you scroll left or right. The carousel on the bottom of the screen is populated with tiles for various apps and functions, and the carousel spins smoothly and is intuitive to use. The tiles open a bunch of apps like Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, Hulu, CinemaNow, Live TV (Media Center), weather, photos, and music pre-installed. You can also download new apps from HP’s Apps Center, like a Marvel Comics reader or Cartoon Network app. The intelligent selection of preloaded apps makes the ToushSmart 310-1000z a primetime entertainment desktop right out of the box. The sheer number of apps and how well they work shows that HP’s TouchSmart interface in maturing nicely. HP even set the Windows Explorer interface to a touch-friendly setting, icons are large and easy to push with a finger, as are UI details like the close and zoom boxes on program windows. This contrasts with the much smaller (though higher-res) interface details on systems like the Dell Inspiron One 2305 (IO2305-3114MSL) ($849.99 list, 2.5 stars). However, HP built the desktop around touch, rather than the technology being an afterthought, like the Dell One 2305.
There are a couple of bloatware apps, specifically designed to sell you more services, installed on the system, like HP Games (Wild Tangent) and Snapfish are examples. Netflix and CinemaNow are integrated into the TouchSmart interface. Now these are arguably bloatware, but are forgivable becuase the integration is done well (they advertise subscription and pay services, but Netflix is useful if you already subscribe). The utilities for Facebook, Twitter, and Hulu are genuinely useful, since they access prime free online services. HP has intelligently and selectively added value to the system with less extraneous shortcuts all over the desktop and Start menu than before. As configured in our review unit, the TouchSmart 310-1000z comes pre-loaded with a 15-month subscription to Norton Internet Security (anti-virus, anti-spam, firewall, etc.)—a lot better than the 30 to 90 days that comes standard on most PCs.
Performance
HP TouchSmart 310 The TouchSmart 310-1000z is a snappy performer, thanks to its quad-core AMD Athlon II X4 615e processor and 6GB of DDR3 memory. The desktop completed the Handbrake video encode test in just under 3 minutes (2:56) and Photoshop CS5 test in under 7 minutes (6:42). These are both decent scores, especially when the Dell Inspiron One 2305 took quite a bit longer to complete both tests (5:36 Handbrake, 10:56 CS5). If you actually work on your photos and videos before uploading them to YouTube or FaceBook, you’ll notice the extra minutes ticking by. The desktop’s integrated ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4270 graphics are relatively weak, showing only 10 frames per second (fps) on our Crysis test at medium quality, but the system has a DX10-compatible GPU. This GPU helps more with viewing HD online videos anyhow: 1080p and 720p videos were nice and smooth on the TouchSmart 310-1000z. The 310-1000z had trouble running the 3DMark Vantage test, but again that’s not as much of an issue since someone who wants 3D gaming prowess will get a more capable system like the Apple iMac 21.5-inch (Core i3) ($1,199 list, 4 stars) or Lenovo IdeaCentre B500 ($1,399 direct, 4 stars).
The HP TouchSmart 310-1000z makes a few compromises—lower-res screen and no Blu-ray or remote—to reach the sub-$1,200 price point while still playing up its touchscreen focus. It still excels, thanks to its advanced touch interface and quality design. For less money you can buy a larger touchscreen all-in-one like the Dell Inspiron One 2305 (IO2305-3114MSL), but that particular system is so sluggish, you’re going to question why you bought a touchscreen desktop in the first place. The Lenovo IdeaCentre B305 ($949 list, 3.5 stars) is a closer competitor, but the HP still has a better touch interface and larger hard drive. At the same price point, you can get the Apple iMac 21.5-inch if you absolutely need performance, so that system holds on to its Editors’ Choice for mid-priced all-in-one desktops. However, we still need to give the TouchSmart mid-priced all-in-one desktop proper praise for integrating its touch functions well, within the all-in-one desktop space. The TouchSmart 310-1000z ‘s well-chosen hardware and immersive touch interface makes it a prime candidate for your first touch-screen desktop PC (or as a second, better model). Therefore we award the HP TouchSmart 310-1000z our first Editors’ Choice in the category of touchscreen all-in-one desktop PCs.
No Comment