Item : B001LF35VY Customer Reviews Fun, functional laptop, with some software bugs by .. D. Emerson (Reno, NV) I've had three different HP laptops over the years, and honestly, I've never been disappointed with them. They have great media bundles, and come with some very cool, and generally, useful features. That being said, I'll list some of the pros and cons to the TouchSmart laptop. Pros: -The touchscreen: Fantastic. I've heard that are two different screens being put out on the market, a matte finish and a gloss screen, and I have the gloss. The resolution is surprisingly sharp, for a touchscreen, though it isn't anywhere near a sharp and pixilated as a regular desktop high-res screen. Still, the screen is clear and bright, and very responsive, with multi-touch facilities (like swiping, holding, drag-and-drop, etc.). There is a provided pen, which has sensors built-in to detect the screen BEFORE you touch it. That means that the pen acts like a mouse and can hover over your selection before you select it, which makes using the pen very accurate and clean. The screen swivels and lies flat, turning the entire screen into a writing tablet, which I, being a college student, have found incredibly useful, since it's usually faster and more convenient to write notes than type them. The handwriting recognition is pretty accurate, as well, and it's even customizable, so you can train the computer to recognize your own individual style. There is also a fingerprint feature, which you can use to lock the computer, provide permissions for programs, etc. All in all, the touchscreen experience is fantastic. HP did an excellent job on the hardware for it. -Keyboard: One of the things I've always really enjoyed about HP's laptops is the keyboard layout. The keys are large, spaced nicely, and have a very nice tactile feedback. There are function shortcuts for dimming the brightness of the screen, volume, DVD functions, internet shortcuts, and most are also programmable to suit your own needs. The one complaint I could have is that the keys can pop off, though mine only did so because my cat walked across the keyboard, and got stuck when I tried to pull him off. A friend of mine with the same model had a key pop off randomly, though they're easy to pop back on. I've honestly never had that happen with any of my other HP's, so it might be a model-specific thing. Otherwise, it's a great keyboard. -Software/Programs: HP comes with all kinds of neat programs, usually media options, which are not really necessary, but make for a fun experience. There is a handwriting tablet that stays tucked out of the screen, and pulls up when you scroll over it with the pen or mouse, and allows for handwritten entries while browsing or imputing passwords. It does come standard with a media platform, like a DVD player, Sling media, and various others. It of course comes with Windows Vista, though you do have to pay for a final version. (I have a corporate deal that allowed me to install Premium free, and that works well enough. I haven't had any errors with Windows.) There's nothing really huge, but enough for an average media user. -Hardware: The hardware features are decent. There is a webcam, which sets up nicely (and usually automatically) with other programs, like Skype, and also takes pictures, though the camera isn't anything to write home about. There are also neat things you can do with the webcam, like change the borders and play with the images; just something fun. The DVD player works well, even with the HP provided programs, though sometimes the resolution can be a bit grainy in full-screen mode, though given that most laptops have the pixilation issue, it's nothing huge. The DVD player can also be removed and replaced with a lighter insert, for travel, to reduce the overall weight.The speakers are actually pretty decent little things, with a very nice volume range, though not much balance in all registers. The mouse pad, also, is actually pretty cool. Unlike their usual metal finish mouse touchpads, HP decided to just dimple in the plastic, and put the sensors below, which is a really great tactile feedback for when you're actually touching the pad. Occasionally it's actually oversensitive, and picks up finger touches when you're actually just clicking the hard buttons for selection, but it's actually a really nice touch. I wonder why they don't put it on any other models. -Construction/Appearance: HP decided to go with a very solid plastic construction, dark metal, with light metal flourishes for finish, which I don't mind, since it gives the laptop a personalized appearance, but makes the laptop appear rather feminine. That's probably a personal thing, probably, but I would certainly say it gives the laptop a very feminine sort of air. I don't think the model comes with another finish, but if you don't care about that sort of thing, then it won't really matter. The laptop is a bit thicker than other models, but the touchscreen and the swivel aspect accounts for most of that. Still, it's a pretty compact little package, very solid, and doesn't feel terribly bulky, even with the extra girth. The battery life is decent, and can get through about 4-6 hours on a charge, depending on the settings, though a bigger, longer-lasting battery is available, and probably recommended, especially if you sit for hours, like I do, without a wall energy source. Overall, I love the construction. Cons: -Software: HP put A LOT of bloatware upon initial purchase, and defaults a lot of programs to run automatically upon start-up. This, combined with the lag for Windows Vista anyway, due to the absurd amount of free memory space that Vista requires, makes for a very, very slow start up, unless you or someone else can remove the bloat, and change the automatic settings. There are also some HP MediaSmart issues, and random error messages will occasionally pop up, though I've never had serious issues with any of them, since usually it doesn't affect whatever I'm doing, and I never actually know what apparently had an error. The computer will also occasionally freeze, and require a complete restart, for no apparent reason, or a program will continue running, even after it's been closed (Firefox does this often, and I don't think it's a Firefox bug), which also requires a complete re-boot to reset the program, since it doesn't appear on the task manager while it's "running". Really, with all the great things HP software is capable of, I don't know why they put so much useless extra stuff on the computer initially. You can customize what you receive or have installed on the computer by ordering the computer directly from HP, but that's going to cost you extra. If you're willing to do that, I would honestly go that route, because dealing with all the trialware and bloat is just annoying. ALSO: I ended up going with this HP because normally, I've edited my MP3s and other music features with the media bundle. I've been able to change the files, and convert them without using another program, and for some reason, HP didn't include that option on this model, which is actually a big thing for me. I can't edit most file information, and can't convert formats. I've had to go and find other third party programs with the capabilities to change and convert audio and visual files, which is really disappointing. Why HP took that out, I don't know, but I'm very disappointed about that exemption. If you don't care about that sort of thing, it won't matter, but for HP media fans expecting the same abilities as prior packages, you will be disappointed. And other than the software bugs, and various other freezing issues with Windows? The laptop is a great deal, not terribly expensive for the experience you get, and a very fun package. Heavy corporate laptop users, I wouldn't recommend this model, since it's much more of a fun, media experience, but for anyone looking for a little laptop with some great functional abilities, this is a pretty decent bet. I'd recommend it. Great Consumer Multitouch Laptop by .. D. Ta (Highland Heights, KY United States) HP TouchSmart TX2-1025DX is hailed as the first consumer multi-touch laptop that is marketed to a mass audience, but does it do its job well enough to satisfy the majority of the people? When I first heard about this, I was excited. I switched over to Mac because it provided me with what I wanted: a high performing computer with a cool factor. I since then gave my MacBook to Jonathan and migrated over to this PC laptop, and my deciding factor was the multitouch feature. I've owned a tablet PC before, and thought they were cool, but something was always missing. I always wanted the ability to manipulate things on the screen directly without the use of a special tool. My last pen broke on me several times which prompted me to just use my tablet as a standard laptop. I can type directly on the screen which gave it a futuristic feeling. The touch response has been mostly excellent. I say mostly excellent because it lags a bit when Windows boots but only just a few seconds. I have an anti-glare screen protector placed (I ordered something larger and had it cut down to size) so I can easily clean the screen, it helps with the pesky glossiness that PC laptops are notorious for, and it prevents the screen from being accidently scratched. When I have the pen near the screen touch is disabled to prevent accidental button pressing which is a neat and necessary feature. Windows 7 RC was installed on this computer, but be forewarned, update your computer before upgrading, and I would recommend that you upgrade and not do a clean install. Why? Because all the drives will have a better chance at working. I did a clean install the first time, only to have it restored because the driver to the fingerprint scanner didn't work. The fingerprint scanner works fine when logging into Windows, but the software is a little buggy when it comes to using Internet Explorer. It doesn't recognize that you already have those sites saved in the program so it asks every time you scan your finger. If you're a Firefox user, this shouldn't be a problem as scanner works flawlessly. As far as speed and performance between Vista and 7 goes, 7 outperforms Vista hands down. I have a small server in my home that all my computer connects to, and the rate of transfer has doubled. Logging in and shutting down the computer is much quicker. When you open the laptop from sleep, I noticed that the time it took for the computer to wake up was much quicker. The weight of the computer is comparable to that of a MacBook. The screen is slightly smaller but I hardly noticed the difference, and its size makes it easy to carry around in a book bag. I'm writing this review in the position of an academic and a researcher. NVivo and SPSS work fine on this computer. I have no problems running my data or coding my data. All the Microsoft Office 2007 products work fine on this computer. I'm not a graphic designer or artist so I can't speak to the functional needs of those who are. Despite a favorable review, I did find some noticeable things that might bug people. Those limitations are listed below. Improvements that can be made to this laptop (or any laptop in general): - Develop better batteries. Seriously the technology exists. Does Apple hold a patent on Lithium-Polymer batteries? This is one area that all PC laptops should explore to better improve their chances of being bought. - Develop batter anti-glare screens. I hate the glossy nature of PC screens. It makes it near impossible for me to take this laptop outside, and that's one of the reasons why I bought a MacBook. Now since then, I bought a anti-glare screen protector and that has improved the viewing when there are lots of lights, but that should already be included in this laptop and all laptops. - Fan. It's not as noisy as people make it out to be but it does make noise. Despite these flaws, HP did a great job at introducing an affordable multitouch PC to the market, and I hope this catches on to the point that all PCs are equipped with this kind of technology. Just plain flakey! by .. Ken Shabby (Columbus, OH USA) Other than the already mentioned poor performance (my old Toshiba 1.66GHz Centrino is faster) and horrific bloatware, the hardware on this thing is flakey. Every time I reboot, a different piece of hardware would act strange or show up as missing/disabled. The bluetooth was the worst. It was rarely available after booting. If you suspended and then resumed, it would magically appear, but then would not recognize all services on most devices (this would change every time). As an example, it would find and pair with my bluetooth headphones (2 different sets that work flawlessly with other devices and PCs, even an older HP Tablet), but would only allow the headset to connect, not the Stereo AV. The next time it would allow both, but the sound would be severely delayed (2-4 seconds). Next time it would say it connected, but a few seconds later would disconnect and never allow a reconnection, even after removing the device, re-discovering, re-pairing, etc. I see why they've made the price so attractive. Support was dismal as well (web support just returned errors -- nice!). Don't buy this! Mine is going back today. I really wanted it to work, and as I said, I have an earlier version of the Tx that works just fine (although unusably hot and noisy). Very bummed . . . Horrible Screen Quality (since 2009) by .. Niket Parikh () I just returned my HP tx2z tablet PC after using it for 1 day. I was pretty excited about getting the laptop and using all the features of this tablet PC with one of the best configurations available today. However, to my disappointment, HP changed the screen from "glossy" to "matte" finish (as they say) since the beginning of 2009. This "matte" finish screen strains your eyes and is absolutely pathetic. There is a sparkling, shimmering, speckly and grainy picture - especially in the white background. You can clearly see red, green and blue lights emerging from pixels and it is every eye straining! I checked Best Buy and Frys to compare my screen with others - but they had the older versions on display which had the glossy and shinny screen. I even mentioned to the tech support, customer service representative and returns specialist that "if I was a part of a team who made the decision to switch the screen quality, I would have rejected this new screen quality after glancing at it for first 2 seconds". The decision-maker must have to be blind in order to approve this screen quality! There are numerous forums (like TouchSmartCommunity and TabletPCReview) where you can just type in TX2Z matte screen and see the review of hundreds of individuals who returned this tablet only because HP changed the screen quality! Bottom Line: buy this tablet if you're only looking at the price and features, but NOT the quality. I would certainly buy this ONLY if HP changes the screen quality. A very good deal by .. The Count (Raleigh, NC, USA) The price on this laptop can fluctuate a lot. Have seen it for as little as 900-950. This is not an inexpensive machine by any standard but you do get a heck of a lot of features and functionality. I bought this for my daughter who will be going to college soon and needs a powerful machine to get her through the next 4 years. What I like about the TX2: Good build quality as far as I can tell until now Swivel screen - turn it sideways, turn it all the way around or turn the whole thing into a tablet computer Fingerprint reader - does not work every time but often enough and makes logging on much simpler Plenty of memory - 4GB ram, 320 GB hard drive (some configurations have larger hard drives) Works 3 ways - keyboard & touchpad, stylus and finger Good speakers Nifty remote control Plenty of ports 8 cell battery gives nice amount of work time when away from a power source (extra purchase, not included) What I don't like: Screen needs some getting used to. Has a weird look to it as its touch/stylus sensitive. Some call it grainy, I would say its like there is an extra layer of not quite transparent glass on top of the display. Could be a deal breaker for some. Kind of heavy and a little bulky for the size Fan seems to run all the time, occasionally reminding me of a travel hair dryer A HDMI and/or eSata port would have been nice All in all this device is something I would have expected Apple to come up with first. Slick, innovative and packs a punch - especially for the price. Something like this from Apple would probably cost at least $500 more. Touch works quite well not only with the HP Touchsmart user interface, but with Vista in general - unless you have really big fingers. UPDATE 5/7/09 There seems to be an ongoing issue with the screen. Seems that HP has some tx2's out with a glossy screen and some with the matte /sparkly effect that I have on mine. Shoppers have mentioned that Best Buy will have the glossy type on display yet it seems HP is now only shipping the matte/sparkly kind.