Product Description

UNSURPASSED STYLE: HP¿s innovative notebook PC designs truly integrate fashion and technology. High-gloss HP Imprint finish encases the elegant forms and is more durable than traditional painted surfaces. The tx2 Reaction Imprint reveals an energized pattern inspired by the circular elements found in audio quipment. HP notebooks have won coveted International Red Dot and iF material awards. MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT: Providing more choices than ever, HP MediaSmart enables access to DVDs, videos, photos, music, and Internet TV(15) at the touch of a button. Built-in demos show you how to add music to your slide shows or videos with drag-and-drop functionality - and much more. Dual headphone jacks enable you to share films and music without disturbing others. Muvee Reveal makes creating films complete with effects a snap! And the included HP Mini Remote Control can be stored n the ExpressCard slot. All the entertainment you want everywhere you go. What's in the box: TX2-1270us laptop, 65W AC Adapter, 6-Cell Lithium-Ion battery, Symantec Norton Internet Security 2009 with 60 days complimentary live update, Microsoft Works, Adobe Acrobat Reader and HP Games Powered by Wild Tangent

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #989 in Personal Computers
• Color: Black
• Brand: Hewlett-Packard
• Model: NV174UA#ABA
• Dimensions: 1.52" h x 12.05" w x 8.82" l, 4.65 pounds
• CPU: AMD Turion 64 2.2 Hz
• Memory: 4000MB DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard Disk: 500GB
• Processors: 2
• Display size: 12.1

Features

• AMD Turion X2 RM-75 Dual-Core Mobile Processor, ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics
• 4 GB DDR2 RAM (2 Dimm) (8 GB Maximum)
• 500GB (5400RPM) Hard Drive (SATA), SuperMulti 8X DVD±R/RW with LightScribe and Double Layer Support
• Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition with Service Pack 1
• 12.1 inch Diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED Widescreen, Convertible Display (1280 x 800). Panel rotates 180 degrees and folds flat.

From the Manufacturer
Want touchscreen ease and mobility with a twist? Buy an HP TouchSmart tx2 series Notebook PC. Touch the screen with two fingers to zoom in or out on photos and videos. Twist the 12.1-inch diagonal widescreen display up to 180°, fold it flat and write on it using the included pen. Plus, show off your sense of style with HP Imprint finish.

 

SPECIFICATIONS:

Processor:
2.20GHz AMD Turion^™ X2 RM-75 Dual-Core Mobile Processor

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Operating System:
Genuine Windows Vista^® Home Premium 64-bit with Service Pack 1

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Display:
12.1" Diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP LED Widescreen Integrated Touch-screen, Convertible Display

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Hard Drive:
500 GB

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Memory (RAM):
4 GB

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Graphics Card:
ATI Radeon^™ HD 3200 Graphics with 64 Display Cache Memory AMD M780G with 64MB GDDR2 (sideport memory) with up to 1982MB total graphics memory

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Wireless:
Wireless LAN 802.11a/b/g/n WLAN

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Battery:
6-cell Lithium-Ion Battery

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Weight & Dimensions (w x d x h):
4.65lbs; 12.05" x 8.82" x 1.23"/1.52"

 

UNSURPASSED STYLE
HP’s innovative notebook PC designs truly integrate fashion and technology. High-gloss HP Imprint finish encases the elegant forms and is more durable than traditional painted surfaces. The tx2 Reaction Imprint reveals an energized pattern inspired by the circular elements found in audio equipment. HP notebooks have won coveted International Red Dot and iF material awards.

 

MOBILE ENTERTAINMENT
Providing more choices than ever, HP MediaSmart enables access to DVDs, videos, photos, music, and Internet TV⁽¹⁾ at the touch of a button. Built-in demos show you how to add music to your slide shows or videos with drag-and-drop functionality - and much more. Dual headphone jacks enable you to share films and music without disturbing others. Muvee Reveal makes creating films complete with effects a snap! And the included HP Mini Remote Control can be stored in the ExpressCard slot. All the entertainment you want everywhere you go.

MOBILITY YOU CAN TOUCH
For those whose active lives demand a device for note capture, entertainment, communication and robust computing that's easy to carry everywhere, the HP TouchSmart tx2 Notebook PC delivers. The tx2 combines ultra-powerful computing with Tablet PC capabilities and entertainment features in an attractive design light enough to go anywhere. With multi-touch support within HP MediaSmart, it is the first notebook PC for consumers that enables the use of two fingers to navigate HP's entertainment applications. HP has developed a specific set of gestures to help you get the most from your TouchSmart tx2.

• SINGLE, DOUBLE TAP: Select objects by touching them once (single tap), or double tap to open objects/programs.
• FLICK: Scroll or pan within an application either horizontally or vertically. For example, in MediaSmart Photo, flick your finger to the left on the display and the inertia from your flick will move the photos leftward, just as if you pushed a piece of paper to the left on a table.
• PRESS & DRAG: Touch an object on the display and hold and drag it to the desired destination.
• ARC: Allows you to move tracks to/from playlists without having to make a straight line.
• PINCH: Touch an object on the display once to select the item then place 2 fingers on opposite corners of the object, then move them closer together to decrease the object’s size or to zoom out. Move fingers away from one another to enlarge the object or to zoom in.
• ROTATE: Rotate photos by touching the object once to select the item then use 2 fingers on opposite corners of the image and rotate the image either clockwise or counter-clockwise.
• LAUNCH MEDIASMART: Touch the screen with two fingers together and write the letter m on the display to launch the MediaSmart Smart Menu.

 

⁽¹⁾ Internet access required and sold separately.

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Customer Reviews

Don't touch me there
We're unabashed fans of HP's Touch-Smart desktop machines, so we were really looking forward to getting our digits on the new technology in a convertible touch-screen notebook PC. But our eager anticipation only made the reality of the TouchSmart tx2 all that more disappointing.

This is the first convertible touch-screen PC designed for the consumer market, and its underlying hardware--which in our review unit included AMD's best mobile CPU--delivered enough horsepower for this machine's touch-screen elements. Benchmark performance, on the other hand, was dismal (more on that later).

You can use the TouchSmart tx2 as a conventional notebook PC or rotate its 12.1-inch screen 180 degrees, lay it flat, and use the machine's tablet functionality. The 1280x800 touch screen uses active digitizing technology and supports the use of either a fingertip or a digital pen (as opposed to the simple stylus that HP shipped with its first-generation TouchSmart desktops). The digital pen delivers hover feedback (it doesn't have to touch the screen to activate user-interface elements, such as tooltips) and considerably more precision than a fingertip.

The pen is particularly useful for drawing diagrams and jotting notes, and HP's handwriting-recognition software is nothing short of excellent. It had no problem recognizing even our sloppiest handwriting as fast as we could scribble. The vaunted multitouch feature--which lets you manipulate objects and certain aspects of the user interface--is really only useful with HP's very basic MediaSmart applications.

That could change once Windows 7 hits the market, since the new OS is slated to offer native support for multitouch screens. (This machine came with the 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium).

If you don't have a work surface and don't need to type, you can put the machine in tablet mode and cradle it in one arm. But we found that our elbow and shoulder could tolerate this position for only about 20 minutes because the TouchSmart tx2 is so heavy for its size: five pounds, one ounce (with the optional eight-cell battery). Adding the power supply brings the weight up to five pounds, 13 ounces. Replacing the optical drive with the plastic "weightsaver" shell sheds five ounces, but renders the machine much less useful.

As you can see in the chart below, the TouchSmart tx2 is abysmally slow with hardcore applications. And while the machine was nearly silent when idle or playing a movie, it sounded like a hair dryer when given a heavy load. The battery delivered two hours and 51 seconds--long enough to watch both Boogie Nights and its supplemental disc--using HP's recommended settings (which balance battery life with performance).

We made many allowances for the performance of HP's touch-screen desktops, with the caveat that they shouldn't be a Maximum PC reader's only computer. We can't do the same for a notebook. And while we can ignore the TouchSmart tx2's crappy gaming performance--no one buys an ultra portable to play games--we can't ignore this machine's other shortcomings and high price tag.


+ Outstanding touch screen; excellent handwriting recognition.

- Heavy for an ultra portable; loud under load; poor performance; expensive.

Verdict: 6 out of 10

Great laptop!
I wanted a laptop that would replace my four year old 17 inch Gateway. I liked my old laptop but wanted something smaller. I looked at netbooks but they didn't have enough power for my needs. I like an occasional game or two. I went to a computer store and played with their laptops for a while and liked the HP Touchsmart. The model that they had displayed was one with a 320 Gig hard drive and it had a 12.1 inch screen anp only weighed a little more than four pounds. It also was a tablet PC which was intriguing with 4 gigs of memory. The feature that I found desirable was the touchscreen. It fascinated me and made on screen selections so much easier. It also came with a remote and a stylus.I tried it and I liked it.

So when I arrived home I checked Amazon.com and HP's website. I discovered that there was a model of the TouchSmart with 500 gigs of storage. I was sold. Hp offered a lower price but Amazon had a [...] dollar rebate which brought the cost below what Hp offered. They both offered free shipping. I purchased from Amazon and received my new laptop in two days. I am very satisfied with its performance.

Better Than Expected
I had been looking for a laptop to replace my Dell 700M (junk, I know) and had heard good things about HP. I'm not exactly a computer expert but I'm not a novice either and decided to check this computer out after demoing one at a Staples.

First Impressions:

The overall appearance is a damn slick look, which is nice but doesn't really add to the function of the computer. The key board feels sturdy and the button layout is comfortable with the exception of the top row of F keys and the Escape button is downright minute. I was surprised to see a disk for Microsoft Office OneNote in the box but maybe I just didn't read the product review carefully. It feels heavy for its size but not cumbersome.

The Touch Screen:

The screen, as someone pointed out in another review, is not as crisp as the Xbrite screens due to the fact that when you use it as a tablet or just activate the media player your fingers won't stick to a glossy surface. The matte finish doesn't bother me but it could be an issue for people who like to watch a lot of movies on their laptop. (I actually just finished watching Dead Space on mine and hardly noticed the screen quality after a few minutes)

Touch Controls:

Like any new toy it will take a minute to get used to. HP has a tutorial right on the desktop after you complete the somewhat lengthy start up. The pinch and rotation controls take some practice to get just right but with time will be natural and quicker than clicking on it. The responsiveness to your fingers is pretty good but the packaged pen/pointer is where the touch controls really shine.

Using the pen you can precisely click on anything more quickly and accurately than it would to use a mouse. There is a button on the side of the pen that acts as right click when you have something selected. (Alternately if you push down on the pen for one second the right click menu pops up as well.) If you are like me and don't use the home keys when you type it is pretty convenient to hold the pen with your thumb when you need to type into a search engine or in a field. You have the option to write with the pen in the field which I will get into now.

Writing With The Pen:

The handwriting capture box that pops up gives you three ways to enter text. You can write it out all in one line, have a line of boxes similar to filling out a medical sheet where one letter goes in the box and an onscreen touch keyboard. The recognition is a little off right in the beginning. For instance I searched for VLC and it thought my V was an r. For someone that has very legible penmanship that was a little disheartening but you can actually go through and program your own handwriting into the system so it recognizes your style of letters and it hasn't been a problem since. As a bonus it can also recognize cursive, which is nice but typing is still miles ahead.

Drawing:

Another program that was included is Corel Painter 4. I'm not much of an artists but I decided to fool around with it and found everything to be very responsive. You do have to select the width of your line manually since it isn't pressure sensitive but it really isn't an issue for me.

Pros
Very accurate and streamlined touch for a good price.
Fast processor
Shiny exterior

Cons
Screen is a bit muddy looking because of the matte, try and find one in a store to check out.
Handwriting works but feels gimmicky because typing is faster.
Fingerprint security scanner is located awkwardly on the right side of the screen forcing you to turn the computer of your hand to swipe the length of your finger left to right.

Overall I am happy with the performance of this computer and would recommend it even without the tablet capabilities. I didn't go much into the specs because hardware is hardware and let's face it, you just want to know if the touch screen is awesome. For me, it is.