Mom Gadget Domestic Product Reviews and Giveaways

HP TouchSmart IQ770 PC - A MomGadget Review

by Gayla McCord on June 9th, 2007

Over the last few weeks, MomGadget and the whole gadget gang has had a houseguest that came for a lengthy visit. This houseguest would prove to be darn near as tempting as the biblical tale of Adam, Eve and the forbidden fruit - the houseguest being the fruit of course.

This temptation has been at the center of all the Gadget family activity and for the first time in a long time, I found that there IS something powerful even magical enough to interject a real sense of organization into our household with a hefty dose of fun tossed in.

The kids didn’t even realize they were being cleverly manipulated. It’s a parent’s dream I tell ya. (insert evil laugh here)

If you ever have a chance to lay a single finger on the HP Touchsmart IQ770 PC you’ll be hooked.

Where should I start?

It’s Got The Look -

From the moment the PC was lifted from the box the gadget family was oohing and ahhing at the ultra sleek appearance. Being the clutter buster that I am, it was as if the skies parted, Angels began to sing hallelujah and I instantly fell in love with the z-angled cabinet that folds down neatly to provide a well organized appearance when it’s not being used.

I swear HP had mothers like me in mind when they were designing this beauty. There’s even space to tuck away the mouse and keyboard. There’s a printer dock located on the base behind the monitor. I’ve never seen anything quite so compact and versatile. It’s an entire workstation that takes up very little space. This I like! A lot!

Organization -

At least once I month I find myself having to undertake the dreaded task of cleaning all the notes, papers and appointment cards from the refrigerator. We all know we put them there; never look at them again until it’s time to take them off and throw everything away after they’ve long since expired. HP found a virtual cure for cluttered fridges too. Not the inside of the fridge, you’re still on your own on that one. I’m talking about the outside of the fridge.

With the HP Touchsmart IQ770 PC You’ll be able to quickly and easily maintain your families’ busy schedule. Forget the whole having to log in, pull up the right calendar and type in all the details - NO! HP can have you writing in your own virtual Post-It’s in no time and creating entries in the HP Smart Calendar with such ease, you’ll never want to look at another dry erase board and pen, paperclip, refrigerator magnet or day planner again.

There’s even one of those fancy computer pens (it’s called a stylus - sound ultra techzie don’t I? Oui Oui) included to make organizing your life all the more simple.

Family Fun -

Although I’m in love with the organization features served up piping hot by the HP Touchsmart Calendar and message options, my review of the product wouldn’t be anywhere near complete if I didn’t include the entertainment package.

There are six people in my house and this gadget presented something for everyone! In fact, instead of allowing computer time that was taken away for bad behavior, I turned this little beauty into a full blown bribe by allowing the kids to do random chores that would surprise me just to earn time on this baby.

What can I say, four teens, bribing is a necessity around this house!

From the ability to watch movies or use the video recorder to play, pause, rewind and record live television - with daylight savings time in full swing, I’d never have to miss another episode of NCIS or CSI again. I can’t tell you how many times I realize at sunset that I’ve just missed my favorite shows. Not anymore! Take THAT DST!

The kids fell in love with the music features. Listening to the latest Daughtry or Linkin Park on high performance speakers has them soooo spoiled; going back to the ‘old fashioned’ way of listening to music will be pure torture (on all of us, believe me!)

Video Games are SO - much - FUN! I’ve never been a big fan of video games, until now. I found myself sending the kids to bed early just so I could get my paws on it. Playing games on a touchscreen is one of those experiences that is far too good for words. I’d even go so far as to say its right up there with taste of elegant dark chocolate freshly imported from Germany.

Additional features -

1.3 Mp webcam and microphone - this is a dream for keeping in touch with relatives out of state. My mother lives in Canada so this helps her feel closer to her grandchildren and not so much like she’s missing out on their growing up.

Analogue and digital TV tuners - Yes, just what every home needs another television - but seriously, this television, though only viewable on the 19 inch screen, smokes every other television in our house on clarity, color and sound.

For all you Windows Vista fans, it’s in there! I’m not the biggest fan of Vista just yet, perhaps someday when I’ve had more time to familiarize myself with it - but being the creature of habit that I am, it took me until 2006 to update to XP.

Techie Stuff That Makes Absolutely No Sense to Me -

Since most people aren’t like me, calling their tech-head brother when buying a computer to have him interpret the more techie type features, I copied the goodies off the official site for your review reading pleasure:

• AMD Turionâ„¢ 64 X2 Dual-Core TL-52
• 2048MB DDR2 SDRAM system memory
• 320GB hard drive
• Slot-loading SuperMulti DVD burner2 with LightScribe technology
• Touch enabled 19″ diagonal widescreen BrightView LCD
• NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card with 256MB dedicated video memory (Up to 528MB Total Available Graphics memory as allocated by Windows Vistaâ„¢.)
• Integrated 1.3-megapixel HP WebCam with built-in array microphone
• HP SmartCenter Button to launch interactive mode with one touch
• NTSC TV tuner and over-the-air ATSC high-definition television tuner
• Wireless keyboard and mouse, stylus, and Media Center Remote Control

Unlike most houseguests, we really hate to see this one go. She was only here for a short while, but now that the HP Touchsmart PC has been added to everyone’s Christmas list, I’m sure we’ll have one just like her back in our home for the long haul before long.

Since we’re only halfway through the year, you still have plenty of time to add this little dream to your Christmas list too.

At just under $2,000, she’s a bit pricey, but if I never recommend another thing, this is one of those must haves for every busy family.

More on Touchsmart:

Tags: Hewlett-Packard, HP TouchSmart PC, MomGadget Reviews, Gadget, Computer, family, organization

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POSTED IN: MomGadget Reviews, Special Features