HP TouchSmart tx2z Customizable Notebook PC

User Review #10 Source: HP.com by cklanish on December 29th, 2009

i was iffy about the handwriting but after using it a couple times it can understand mine and its worse than a doctors it a great compact laptop but recommend a external fan

love it

i was iffy about the handwriting but after using it a couple times it can understand mine and its worse than a doctors it a great compact laptop but recommend a external fan

User Review #9 Source: HP.com by marygr on December 28th, 2009

This is the best laptop I have ever owned. It is as small as a netbook with all the features of a desktop. This small laptop does it all. So many awesome features not found on other laptops for t his price. I love it.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE THIS COMPUTER

This is the best laptop I have ever owned. It is as small as a netbook with all the features of a desktop. This small laptop does it all. So many awesome features not found on other laptops for t his price. I love it.

User Review #8 Source: HP.com by KFricke on December 7th, 2009

The HP TX2-1370US touch-screen computer is a brilliant machine for airborne road warriors. The small crowd that travels frequently and tries to get work done while on an airliner knows this scene really well: The airliner is packed and the guy (or gal) in the seat in front leans way back and makes it impossible to work with a normal size laptop and moving to another seat is not an option. This can be three or four hours of pure purgatory. After a recent flight with that bad scene I set out to downsize my travel computer. The logical choice seemed to be a netbook with all of the disadvantages of a slow processor, lack of a CD/DVD drive, etc., etc. The cost of a robustly configured 12” netbook turned out to be greater than $900.00. This was a costly underpowered computer. So I turned to exploring for ultra-portable notebooks and stumbled across the TX2-1370US. My attitude toward tablet computers was not good when I first contemplated purchasing this computer but the price of it (under $900.00) was compelling given its form factor (12.1” screen) and more normal specifications. It’s a good bit heavier than a netbook but about the same as the machine I wanted to retire. The only lingering doubt that I had at first glance was the fact that my cursive handwriting is somewhat beyond awful and an earlier trial with a tablet touch-screen had not worked out well. I was stunned at a hands-on demonstration at a local retail outlet by the ability of the machine to accurately translate my cursive handwriting that is somewhat difficult to read. As a long-time satisfied user of HP computers and printers I didn’t hesitate to make a purchase on the spot. After a week of tinkering, testing and tuning I have found very little not to like about this computer. HP has done a great job of making the touch-screen concept very user friendly. The machine is well constructed and the swivel component of the touch screen is tight and seems plenty sturdy. The screen can be swiveled to an upright reverse position which puts the viewable screen in front of the keyboard. The remote control sensor is embedded in the frame of the screen so it is possible to view and control videos with the keyboard tucked behind the screen. The computer plays HD videos smoothly and quickly handles digital photo editing and processing using Photoshop CS3. I’m not a gaming person so I can’t vouch for how the AMD ZM-85 processor would do for graphical intensive games. It more than satisfies my needs and the tablet mode functions extremely well with either Microsoft Word or Excel. None of the software mentioned was included in the base price of the computer. There is a button embedded in the frame of the screen to change the orientation of the display from landscape (normal) to portrait. This is an extremely useful function. What’s not to like? HP has provided some proprietary software that I consider ill-behaved and unnecessary. This software is currently uncontrollable to the user (and owner) and can and will start up at inopportune times and it isn’t possible to shut it down once it seizes control of the computer. The software is designed to perform software updates (mostly HP software) and it also gathers information that is sent back to HP. I disable both related processes (hpwuschd2.exe and HPAdvisor.exe) at startup through Task Manager. I plan to allow both of them to run about once a week when it is convenient to me. The keyboard is a little tight but not impossible. My fingers are medium size so larger might have a problem. The mouse touchpad is different and not the shiny smooth surface that is the norm but it is easy to get used to this new feel. The buttons however are pretty noisy and I find that noise objectionable – I suspect the noise is deliberate to provide feed-back to the user. The computer’s cooling fan seems to run continuously and periodically at higher speeds that are also fairly noisy. Lastly playing videos chews up battery power rapidly. The standard six cell battery ran out of power after an hour and 35 minutes while an optional eight cell battery lasted a couple of minutes beyond two hours. This was in what I call airliner mode with wireless and all other non essential processes disabled. In normal work mode using Word, Excel, and audio (music) through headphones the six cell battery lasted two hours and 44 minutes and one would expect the eight cell to last for about 3 ½ hours. On a final note – I purchased a Scrabble game and it makes my wife extremely happy. It plays well on the touch-screen and I also like it a lot. A trial version can be found under the generic “Games” folder that is installed on the computer. So far I’m a really happy camper with this HP touch-screen.

TX2-1370US touch-screen is brilliant

The HP TX2-1370US touch-screen computer is a brilliant machine for airborne road warriors.

The small crowd that travels frequently and tries to get work done while on an airliner knows this scene really well: The airliner is packed and the guy (or gal) in the seat in front leans way back and makes it impossible to work with a normal size laptop and moving to another seat is not an option. This can be three or four hours of pure purgatory.

After a recent flight with that bad scene I set out to downsize my travel computer. The logical choice seemed to be a netbook with all of the disadvantages of a slow processor, lack of a CD/DVD drive, etc., etc. The cost of a robustly configured 12” netbook turned out to be greater than $900.00. This was a costly underpowered computer. So I turned to exploring for ultra-portable notebooks and stumbled across the TX2-1370US.

My attitude toward tablet computers was not good when I first contemplated purchasing this computer but the price of it (under $900.00) was compelling given its form factor (12.1” screen) and more normal specifications. It’s a good bit heavier than a netbook but about the same as the machine I wanted to retire. The only lingering doubt that I had at first glance was the fact that my cursive handwriting is somewhat beyond awful and an earlier trial with a tablet touch-screen had not worked out well. I was stunned at a hands-on demonstration at a local retail outlet by the ability of the machine to accurately translate my cursive handwriting that is somewhat difficult to read. As a long-time satisfied user of HP computers and printers I didn’t hesitate to make a purchase on the spot.

After a week of tinkering, testing and tuning I have found very little not to like about this computer. HP has done a great job of making the touch-screen concept very user friendly. The machine is well constructed and the swivel component of the touch screen is tight and seems plenty sturdy. The screen can be swiveled to an upright reverse position which puts the viewable screen in front of the keyboard. The remote control sensor is embedded in the frame of the screen so it is possible to view and control videos with the keyboard tucked behind the screen.

The computer plays HD videos smoothly and quickly handles digital photo editing and processing using Photoshop CS3. I’m not a gaming person so I can’t vouch for how the AMD ZM-85 processor would do for graphical intensive games. It more than satisfies my needs and the tablet mode functions extremely well with either Microsoft Word or Excel. None of the software mentioned was included in the base price of the computer. There is a button embedded in the frame of the screen to change the orientation of the display from landscape (normal) to portrait. This is an extremely useful function.

What’s not to like?

HP has provided some proprietary software that I consider ill-behaved and unnecessary. This software is currently uncontrollable to the user (and owner) and can and will start up at inopportune times and it isn’t possible to shut it down once it seizes control of the computer. The software is designed to perform software updates (mostly HP software) and it also gathers information that is sent back to HP. I disable both related processes (hpwuschd2.exe and HPAdvisor.exe) at startup through Task Manager. I plan to allow both of them to run about once a week when it is convenient to me.

The keyboard is a little tight but not impossible. My fingers are medium size so larger might have a problem. The mouse touchpad is different and not the shiny smooth surface that is the norm but it is easy to get used to this new feel. The buttons however are pretty noisy and I find that noise objectionable – I suspect the noise is deliberate to provide feed-back to the user. The computer’s cooling fan seems to run continuously and periodically at higher speeds that are also fairly noisy.

Lastly playing videos chews up battery power rapidly. The standard six cell battery ran out of power after an hour and 35 minutes while an optional eight cell battery lasted a couple of minutes beyond two hours. This was in what I call airliner mode with wireless and all other non essential processes disabled. In normal work mode using Word, Excel, and audio (music) through headphones the six cell battery lasted two hours and 44 minutes and one would expect the eight cell to last for about 3 ½ hours.

On a final note – I purchased a Scrabble game and it makes my wife extremely happy. It plays well on the touch-screen and I also like it a lot. A trial version can be found under the generic “Games” folder that is installed on the computer.

So far I’m a really happy camper with this HP touch-screen.