HP TouchSmart 600

compared

HP comperably equpped (no tv tuner, 2.8GHz, 8GB 1TB, but lacking wireless keyboard, webcam, and microhpone Mac has) came in over $2100.

27" iMac 3.06 Core 2 Duo with same is about $1800. and has a slightly faster Radeo 4670 GPU as well, not to mention a much better IPS display panel with 4 more inches and nearly double the resolution.

21.5" imac is a bit smaller, but still higher resolution (even given the 1" smaller screen), still has a 3GHz cpu (and could be 3.33 for another $180), still has the better GPU, and is closer to $1600.

You can add a TV tuner to a Mac cheper than what HP charges for one, and a copy of parallels can be had free from many vendors and a copy of Win 7 is $49 as well, so for several hundred less, simply saccrifice the touch screen and you do in fact get a MUCH more powerful machine that runs Windows AND OS X. (or, and the iMacs can be upgraded to 32GB of RAM (16GB factory direct across 4 DDR3 slots). The HP maxes out at 8GB using slower RAM. Essentially, this is a $600 premium, saccrifice of webcam options, lack of OS compatability, and a slower machine for a touch interface.

...or, as rumor speculates, for $700-800 you'll be able to get an iPad in a couple of months with NFC, and put it in front of that iMac and use it as a touch interface for it... I'd much rather have a more powerful Mac with more and better options AND an iPad for a $100 premium than have this HP. They priced this out of reality.

Nice keyboard though

I wonder if you can get it separately. Wouldn't mind one for my new machine if not too pricey.

Machine looked like an OK sort of thing for the missus once the price drops - but it's far too much for what it is at the moment.

Fingerprints per-lease

It's hard enough to stop folk pointing to something on the screen without getting their sticky fingers all over it at the best of times. This just invites it.

Screens = for looking at.

Mice/controller - for manipulating stuff on the screen.

Or should I slide my finger across the screen to get my mouse to scuttle across the desk?

elfinsafty

The ergonomics of the screen on the desk idea (and its mac equivalent) are rubbish. It's the classic problem faced by laptop users, either face neck/back hunch or sit the thing higher, which resolves that issue, but puts wrists/hands in a bad position.

that alone makes it unsuitable as a serious productivity tool, as a leisure tool, it doesn't cut it either, out the box obsolete gaming capability, and a bluray of limited use without a larger screen

I can't think of many scenarios where either an upgradable concealed desktop, or a laptop and an extra monitor wouldn't do a better job.

Style/substance != 90%

I'm confused

Can anyone explain to me what niche this is supposed to fill?

I see touhscreens as an improvement on small devices such as phones and possibly laptops because they negate the need for bulky keyboards and thus save a lot of space. I could also see the use of a good quality touchscreen on a laptop for writing directly onto.

Why on Earth would someone want a touchscreen ona desktop PC that doubles as a TV? What functionality des a touchscreen offer to a desktop PC (ie one that is designed for a desktop, and therefore to use a keyboartd/mouse) or a TV (which I never want to be anywhere within 10 feet to operate)?

This seems like an absurd premium to pay for the ability to rotate photos with my fingers as well as a mouse.

Bigger

would be better. I would think that a quad-core version with more RAM would not be a lot more expensive, and, as noted, it has a decent graphics chipset.

While this specific system is expensive for its CPU power, presumably the touchscreen hardware does cost money - so the premium for it would be easier to accept on a more upscale system.

Two words...

...Gorilla arm.