Customer Reviews

HP TouchSmart IQ524 Desktop PC (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo T6400 Processor, 4 GB RAM, 500 GB Hard Drive, DVD Drive, Vista Premium)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This computer is working well. I was skeptical about buying it, since my laptop was not even a year old, but I'm glad I made the change. It's very fast - almost instant on. The Touchsmart feature is not too practical. The 22" screen is more comfortable several feet away. Can't reach the screen, so I optimized it for the mouse. I did look at the Touchsmart software and found it of little interest. The large screen is very practical for my needs, though. I have plenty of table space right in front of me, rather than filling it with computer.

The cordless keyboard works very well. Lot of times the cordless equipment doesn't keep up with my typing. Love the larger delete key. The mouse is a bit stiff, but it operates mouse-intensive games fine.

All my software and wireless printer set up easily, as did internet connections. The little cover on the ports is a bit difficult to remove and replace. The shiny finish is quite a dust enhancer. Somewhere the black frame got scratched at the bottom of the screen right in the middle.

I like the HP Pocket Media plug-in backup drives. The HP website shows the drive as an accessory to the 500 series Touchsmart. I phoned their sales people twice to ask about drive capacity and where the drive was inserted into this unit, and both confirmed the PC had a slot in the top, so I ordered the 500gb drive from HP at the same time I ordered the PC from Amz. PC arrived, and there is no slot. Another call to HP revealed that only the 800 series accommodates this drive. So I have to attach it via USB. The whole idea of the Pocket Media is that they slide right into their own slots in the PCs for which they are made. I found it interesting that both the people and the website at HP were sloppy about this accessory. HP is very generous about returns, but I wanted the larger capacity drive, so I kept it. By the way, this is the second HP computer I've had for which these plug-in drives were misrepresented on their website. First time it happened, a couple computers ago, I could not get anybody to acknowledge the error and correct the site.

I realize once in a blue moon, a lemon comes off the line. Perhaps this is one of the Lemons of the 524 series. I've had nothing but problems with it. 1st...it will not eject the disk loaded...unless I remove the back panel (something HP Tech told me to do the night I brought it home...a brand new machine and I'm taking it apart already!) It will NOT burn CDs...perhaps one if 5 is playable again...the other four are junk.

And although HP on line has been of some help, I'm returning this for the first time....and I hope the last time.

This cost nearly $1300....and I believe right now I could have found a much better machine for much less cost.

We were looking to buy my grandparent their first computer to introduce them to email and the internet. So far, this has been a great choice. The built in TouchSmart software provides an easy, graphical way to launch programs with a simple touch. The screen is huge and very clear, another thing we looked for. While a netbook could have run a browser and an email client-about all we'll ever need-the features on this computer could not be friendlier to a novice user. I would fully endorse it for what we needed.
That said, I would not recommend it to an advanced user unless their only specification was the touch capability (which is very sensitive and well integrated). The TouchSmart software isn't as smooth as I would expect and feels somewhat rushed to production if not a bit buggy. For example, if you push the windows key while it is running you get a floating user icon and nothing else. It is hard to differentiate between scrolling and selecting. I quickly became frustrated with it as I configured it. But then I suppose most advanced users would have little use for this feature anyways, so I would not consider this a deal-breaker.
Overall, very sharp display, very easy to use, good use of touch technology, bad built in software.

I love this PC! Great looks and speed! I was very surprise how responsive the touchscreen was. The install was a breeze! It has everything I need in one well design package: webcam, great resolution, speed, wireless keyboard and mouse (a plus), big hard drive, sd card slot (and others).
Very happy with this purchase!

I would like first to commend Amazon for great customer service. The computer itself is a great computer. I enjoy especially the touch screen.
However, the windows vista 64 bit is a bit inconvenient with the fact that their is several softwares it is uncompatible with.

First of all this computer is beautiful looking and incredibly complimentary. People will say how beautiful it is quite often. But aside from that surface quality which by the way is nice, there are other much more important things that compliment this computer. The touchscreen effect is amazing! You can use your mouse or finger to move things around, fan icons, again it looks good!

So let's get down to the real stuff; Performance: Excellent, this is a fast, responsive system with a ton of RAM (4GB), Imagery & video quality are also very good, you will not complain here. The quality of sound is very nice and more than likely you will not have to purchase external speakers- I didn't!

Wifi- Fast internet connection wirelessy works perfect!

This unit is heavy btw, it weighs a good amount of solid state goods!

Most Important For Me: Hewlett Packard (HP) is a company that's been around for quite some time. HP has done several things right over time and it speaks volumes to this company's survival throughout all the computer computer fallouts we've all seen over the past 15 or so years. HP survived the volitile market because of several factors. First and foremost HP makes an excellent product! Second to that HP knows how to make a really good looking computer too! So you have quality and appeal, and finally add to these qualities 'EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE'.

My experience with HP's customer service has been that this computer company cares about their customer's, HP will go out of their way to make the customer happy so long as HP's computer is the root of the problem. HP will replace defective computers under warranty without playing any games. They've done this for me after 2 failed repair attempts I was given a brand new computer and to me that just puts the whole experience right smack into the 5 star category.

HP = * * * * *
5 Stars

I love this company!

Gerard H.

Let me first by saying this item can sure make someone happy. Yes it was 100.00 more than the apple computer. It can operate by a single touch screen or use the wireless mouse. Built in camera, can have many pics up on the screen at once and believe me the screen alone is huge. Dvd burner, internal web cam, 22in screen, wireless network card,wireless keyboard, and a sandisk slot and 4gb memory and 500gb hard drive. has a button for a light from low to high. This is all built into the nice screen and also has great sound (1-100. Now I have to go out and buy a printer for it. All in 1 touch. I am just so happy. Thanks dad for making a dream come true for me and making it more enjoyable on the computer to buy and sell as also to have fun with lots of MUSIC. Love your daughter

I am asking for help though....I would like to know if additional mini type speakers could be hooked up? My husband set all this up and I dont want to ask him for he does not listen to music so I want to blast my area for this is my private place to enjoy what I love.
Company name: I Love Music

I bought this computer two weeks ago from [...], and I got it for a great price. Let me preface, I am a HUGE fan of the iMac and love all of Apple's products, but this computer folks is REALLY a good value. I got mine for $750 with Windows 7, and it is super easy to set up, very accesible, well designed, and runs really quick. The touch screen is not gimmicky because it works quite well! The slimline keyboard that it comes with is very nice, even the mouse is sturdy. The webcam function is SO much fun and my girlfriend and I enjoy talking to her family in Poland on it via Skype. It has some really fun things to do on it :) We love pictures and taking videos of our kids and such, and this computer makes everything so easy and fun, we went and got her the HP DV7 laptop to go with it! HP is back on top!!

I'm so pleased with my HP TouchSmart that I'm buying a second one. It's speedy and works great. I love having the all in one computer on my desktop--it saves so much space in my office. The USB Jacks are easy to reach on the side. I called HP once for support and it turned out my plug had come out of the power pack (duh!). HP support was very helpful nonetheless and I felt like I was talking to a bona fide american and someone overseas. Go for it...you'll be happy!

Found everything about this product to be straightforward, simple, and easy to setup.
I particularly love that it is one piece as well as all-in-one. i don't have a lot of space to put a computer and this one fits all my needs perfectly.
Great product. Would recommend it to anyone