Hands-On: HP TouchSmart TX2 Notebook

The HP TouchSmart TX2 Notebook is billed as the world’s first multi-touch notebook PC. Powered by AMD’s Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor, the 12” notebook afters full Tablet PC functionality (if indeed, anyone still wants it) alongside flavour-of-the-month multi-touch controls.

HP have found some success and a definite wow factor in the TX2’s desktop cousin, the IQ800 TouchSmart Desktop PC series – the question is, will it translate to the notebook form factor?

The guys over at AMD Europe sent us a review model to take a look at, so let’s get hands-on (Well, fingers-on, in this case)!

What’s in the Box?

The TX2 is very neatly presented in HP’s usual high quality packaging – given our review model has been shipped all over Europe over the past few months, it’s still holding up well, so you can be sure your notebook will arrive safe and sound from new.

In the box, you’ll find the following:

• HP TouchSmart TX2 Notebook
• Protective Slipcase
• 4 Cell Battery
• 8 Cell Battery
• Power Cables
• Mini Remote
• Manuals and Warranty

Note that if you want Recovery Discs for the TX2, you have to burn these yourself using  the HP Recovery application installed on the machine. You can also recover the machine to factory settings directly from a recovery partition on the notebook itself. It’s a wise move to burn a set of discs too though, just in case.

First Looks

HP’s notebooks have been looking better and better over the past few years and as a previous owner of an earlier TX model (the TX2310) I can assure you that with its cool chassis imprint, matching slipcase and screen wallpaper, the TX2 will definitely get admiring/envious glances from family, friends and colleagues. The matt charcoal grey finish with contrasting white LED indicators is different enough to provide standout, without making too wild a statement, so it’s a notebook that doesn’t look out of place at home but is cool enough to make a splash at the office.

Tale of the Tape

The TX2 is available in a number of specifications. We’re looking at the TX2-1020ea which features the following specs:

For such a compact machine, it’s a great specification. I’ve previously found 12” notebooks to be at the sweet spot of having a screen size big enough to work at comfortably for a few hours at a time, whilst the resulting chassis size is small and light enough to carry around without causing too many issues. I subsequently now use a 10” netbook for most of my work, but a 12” “full sized” notebook is also a great choice, and you’ll find the TX2 comfortable to use at home propped on the soft or in your lap, in the office or on the move on a train, plane or coffee shop – the fold-back screen also ensures you can reduce the machine’s physical footprint further in Table PC mode if space is tight.

AMD’s Turion X2 Ultra is a high-specification notebook-class processor which, combined with the TX2’s ATI Radeon HD 3200 Graphics and top-notch networking (gigabit ethernet, 802.11n wireless and Bluetooth on board) means that you’ve got a lot of power under the hood of the TX2 along with reasonable battery life. HP bundle both 4 and 8 cell batteries with the notebook. With the laptop idling on HP’s own Recommended power settings, we managed to squeeze just over 2 hours 15 mins out of the 4 cell battery. Used in anger, real world usage is more likely to be between an hour and 1 hour 30 mins on battery with Windows Vista. The 8 cell battery improves this considerably, but adds extra weight and bulk to the notebook.

Check out more details on AMD’s Turion processor over at their website. Electronista also has some interesting benchmarks they pulled last year.

Alongside strong networking capabilities, the TX2 offers decent connectivity for mobile working, with a 5 in 1 card reader, ExpressCard slot, 3 USB ports, a VGA socket alongside the usual modem and audio ports. An integrated webcam is also really handy for Skype and instant messaging on the move or at home.

For business users (or anyone seeking higher levels of security than a password), a fingerprint reader is positioned on the right hand side of the screen. It can be a little fiddly to set up, but once that’s done, it works well, providing access to your machine with just one finger swipe.

In summary, it’s a great package, especially for the price and should handle any mobile (and a lot of desktop) tasks you throw at it with grace.

But, it’s not all good news – let’s deal with one of the major issues I have with HP’s touchscreen/tablet notebooks.

One of the downsides to having a great touchscreen is that the technology employed to deliver this renders the screen really grainy, and reduces brightness and clarity. It’s something you notice at first, but slowly get used to – however, the next time you see the notebook side by side with another (and by another, I mean pretty much any other notebook) so suddenly realise you’ve been peering through this strange haze for the last x months whilst the rest of the world has been bathed in sunshine.

I reviewed a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo notebook a couple of months ago, and was writing up the review on my old HP TX 2310 notebook (I’m using a netbook nowadays) and couldn’t believe the difference. The Amilo was brighter, clearer, more colourful – leagues ahead of HP’s tablet.

Sadly, the same is true of the TX2 – we get a lot of fog here in the UK so I’m well used to peering through the gloom to find my way. I just don’t expect to have to do it when using my computer.

HP MediaSmart Software Suite

A lot is being made of the TX2’s multi-touch capabilities, which are enabled thanks to the unit’s 12.1” glass display with capacitive touch, powered by N-Trig’s DuoSense technology. You can use the included pen to control the PC like a tablet (with all of the usual pen tap, gestures and handwriting capabilities) right across the Windows operating system, or use your fingers.

The limitation here is that “real” (i,e, finger) touch is only enabled on a certain number of included HP MediaSmart applications, plus a small number of Windows Vista apps such as Windows Explorer (we’ll discuss Windows 7 a little later). That said, a variety of touch gestures can be utilised on the TX2, including pinch, rotation, arc, flicking, dragging and selections via single and double tap.

The HP MediaSmart Suite includes the following applications:

HP MediaSmart DVD
HP MediaSmart Music
HP MediaSmart Photo
HP MediaSmart TV
HP MediaSmart Video
HP MediaSmart Webcam

The application suite can also be launched by making a wave shape with two fingers together on the screen. Note however that the TX2 does not ship with all of the touch applications you find on the IQ800 – only the media apps are included and you won’t find the Calendar, Notes, Egg Timer and others – I have absolutely no idea why this is and it’s a real shame as TX2 does not realise the full potential of its touchscreen capabilities.

In usage, the MediaSmart applications work reasonably well – the Photo application in particular is strong, but I doubt whether they’re strong enough to make you change from your usual media software, even with touchscreen capabilities.

To check out what the TX2’s touchscreen can do within the bundled MediaSmart applications, check out the videos over at YouTube.

I’m still unconvinced of the value of touch on a notebook device. From an ergonomic point of view, if you press too hard on the notebook screen when in standard configuration, you push the screen back, or cause the notebook to rock – when trying to get touch controls to work correctly, I often found myself keeping hold of the back of the screen with one hand and trying to control the PC with the other.

I can see how touch can work well in an application such as simple photo navigation or album art selection for a music player – but you can’t beat the mouse, keyboard or touchpad for ease of use across pretty much all other applications.

On a small device such as the iPhone/iPod Touch, touch controls work as they avoid the need for a keyboard (and therefore keep the device small and slim) and most importantly, touch control is pervasive across the whole device. In a notebook or desktop setting, touch simply isn’t as useful as other control paradigms and lacks pervasiveness across the operating system – as such, it’s an interesting diversion but right now, is more curiosity than necessity.

Aside from touch, one additional word of frustration, the TX2 is bundled with the usual crapware links to online services such as Ebay and the like, but also comes with a particularly annoying trial of Norton Internet Security 2009 which nags at you to activate it on every boot. Worse still, the close window icon is disabled on this dialog and you have to hunt for a very small text link underneath a giant “Activate Now” button that whispers “close without enabling security”.

A note to HP and Symantec – please stop doing this – breaking user experience like this is pretty shameful and really saps good will for both of your brands.

Summary

The HP TouchSmart TX2 notebook is an attractive, well featured portable PC which offers a high specification at reasonable value. But don’t let the lure of touch controls sway you from considering other options at this point. We’ve a way to go before they justify a premium, and their inclusion does have consequences on display quality.

I’m left wondering why HP failed to include the full range of touch applications that added value to the IQ800 TouchSmart PC series? It seems incongruous to sell a notebook on its touch controls, but then allow users to miss out on all the fun. At this point, the TX2 seems like a cautious first step into the world of touch (much like the IQ500 was an initial toe in the water of desktop touch).

However, if you’re looking for a good-looking device that shows off your geek credentials to the max, the TX2 offers plenty of opportunities to impress family and friends.

More Info: HP TX2 (Amazon US) | TX2 (Amazon UK)