Last Updated November 19, 2009   Product Rating   Multi-touch w/ Windows 7 Responsive touch screen Sleek design for many uses Wireless keyboard & mouse   Fingerprints & smudges show easily No HDMI-in port HP pre-loads too much bloatware

With the release of Windows 7, multi touch computing has finally been something worth looking into because Windows 7 supports multiple touch points for the first time ever and the interface has been redesigned to be "touch friendly". The HP TouchSmart 300-1025 desktop PC offers a 20" touch screen LCD and has sleek looks that make it an excellent primary or secondary PC that has many different features for many different users.

The HP TouchSmart 300-1025 looks much like the rest of the HP TouchSmart PC series, with the glossy black finish and a large screen supported by two silver legs and a back support. The 20" touch screen on this unit is slightly smaller than its 23" brothers in the same TouchSmart desktop series, but because of the smaller screen, this model is slightly cheaper as well. Directly under the screen is the speaker bar and the Home button is also on the front panel, which when pressed, opens up the HP TouchSmart application. One thing the 300 model does lack from the 600 series models is the ambient light sensor which automatically adjusts the display's backlight depending on the room's ambient light. Above the touch screen is a built-in webcam too. The touch screen is extremely responsive and works like a charm. The screen does have a glossy surface, however, so fingerprints and smudges show very easily. Typing on the on-screen keyboard was a snap, but don't expect to use it as a physical keyboard replacement. The TouchSmart 300-1025 comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse duo and as we said before, it comes preloaded with the new Windows 7 Home Edition (64-bit).

Because it comes with Windows 7, it takes advantage of the ability to have multiple touch points and the touch optimized interface of Windows 7. Motions like pinching and rotating with your fingers are also supported for functions like zooming and rotating throughout many aspects of the operating system as well. HP also pre-installs its TouchSmart application which is a touch-friendly interface that allows for users to view videos/pictures, browse the Internet, keep a calendar of events, view the weather forecast, and many other handy features.

The specifications of the HP TouchSmart 300-1025 are by no means belittled despite being "beneath" the TouchSmart 600 series. This model comes with an AMD Athlon II X2 240e dual-core 2.8GHz CPU, 4GB of PC3-8500 DDR3 RAM, a 640GB hard drive, integrated WLAN 802.11b/g/n, and a slot-loading DVD burner with LightScribe technology. The graphics card in this model is an ATi Radeon HD 3200 with 256MB integrated memory. There is also a built-in HDTV tuner to connect to your cable TV service to watch, pause, rewind, and record cable TV similar to how you would using a DVR. Built-in is also a 6-in-1 memory card reader as well has a nice number of ports, including: 6 USB 2.0, digital audio out, S-video input, audio input, and a line in/out port. It does lack the HDMI-in connection that is present on the more expensive TouchSmart models.

HP does include many free programs on this model (and all their PCs to be honest), but many of these programs are either trials or "bloatware" that just clog up hard drive space and slow down the system. Some of these programs include a 60-day subscription for Norton Internet Security 2009, HP Games by WildTangent, and many shortcuts for eBay and other online services. We recommend that you uninstall the Norton trial and any programs you don't feel you need to clear up extra space. Replace the Norton software with Microsoft's free Security Essentials program would be your best bet if you don't want to spend money on security suite.

We felt that performance of the HP TouchSmart 300-1025 is very speedy and will well-suit any user. This is an especially good desktop PC for the dorm room or bedroom because of the built-in TV tuner and the touch screen just adds to the style of the system.

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