The HP TouchSmart tx2z brings something different to the netbook market. Unlike other netbooks which are traditional laptops, this netbook allows you to turn it into a tablet. This is one of a new range of netbooks which are going to be more functional for users and businesses. However, why would you want to be able to turn a netbook into a tablet you ask? Well, to be quite honest it just looks like a fun design. If for nothing else, you can enjoy its unique ability to become a tablet and twist around in a different direction.
While the tablet making ability of the HP TouchSmart tx2z is quite interesting, the real ground breaker is its wide array of port selections for a netbook. You will never see as many ports on a netbook as you see on the HP TouchSmart tx2z. In fact, many laptops that are made by HP or Dell do not have as many of the ports as this laptop has!
However, there are a few drawbacks to this netbook, just like there are drawbacks to the other netbooks. For example, the price can be quite high for people who want something a little bit cheaper. You may not want to pay close to $800 for a simple netbook. That is what most people are paying for their laptops right now. However, if you are interested the other downfall of the HP TouchSmart tx2z is that it does not live long from an outlet. The battery that is included with the TouchSmart simply does not live long enough when compared to many of the other netbooks on the market. Other common problems with the device include a sluggish performance in high resource usage programs and a touch screen that can lose its responsiveness.
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HP TX2Z TouchSmart 12.1-Inch Laptop List Price: $1,099.00 Sale Price: $1,248.05 Used From: $800.00 Average Rating:   |
Description
PROCESSORAMD Turion X2 Dual-Core RM-74 (2.2GHz/512KB x 2 L2 Cache) MEMORY4GB DDR2 SDRAM HARD DRIVE320GB 5400 RPM SATA Hard Drive DISPLAY12.1" WXGA BrightView w/Integrated Touch-screen MULTIMEDIA DRIVESuper Multi 8X DVDRW w/Double Layer VIDEO GRAPHICSATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200 w/ Webcam DIGITAL MEDIA5-in-1 media card reader COMMUNICATION802.11b/g WLAN KEYBOARDFull-Size POINTING DEVICETouchPad with dedicated vertical & horizontal scroll pad DIMENSIONS8.82" (L) x 12.05" (W) x 1.23" (min H)/1.52" (max H) WEIGHT4.59 lbs. PC CARD SLOTSExpressCard/34 slot EXTERNAL PORTSExpansion port 3 connectorThree USB 2.0Headphones outMicrophone inRJ-45 (LAN)VGA port SOUNDIntegrated Altec Lansing stereo speakers POWERStandard Lithium-Ion battery OPERATING SYSTEMMicrosoft Windows Vista Home Premium SOFTWAREHP PhotoSmart EssentialsAdobe Acrobat ReaderMicrosoft WorksMicrosoft Windows Media PlayerHP Games Powered by Wild Tangent
Features
- 12.1-Inch Diagonal WXGA High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Integrated Touch-screen, Convertible Display (1280 x 800).
- AMD Turion X2 Dual-Core RM-74, 320GB Hard Drive (SATA), 4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm).
- Connectivity: 3 USB, 1 VGA, 1 ExpressCard 34, 1 headphone, 2 microphone, 1 S/PDIF out, 5-in-1 memory card reader
- Quad-mode Wi-Fi LAN (802.11a/b/g/n), 10/100 Ethernet, ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3200
- Pre-installed with Windows Vista Premium
- Panel rotates 180 degrees and folds flat. Rechargeable Digitizer for handwriting capture included
Reviews
I have had a HP tx2z touchsmart laptop for about a year now, I also bought the 2-year accidental protection plan (about a third of the laptop in cost). When I first bought it I had one issue with the touch screen that took about 3 weeks to get fixed and two hour long calls to HP. About a month ago I started having bad heat issues and my video card started going bad. I have spent 6 calls, 1+ hour each, on the phone with HP. One month later and I still don't even have a box to send my HP laptop in for repair. BEWARE OF HP.
Fresh out of the box, the HP Touchsmart tx2z is terribly slow due to bloatware. But even after removing everything (I recommend CCleaner.) and upgrading to Windows 7, boot time takes about 3 minutes (slow! especially for 2.30 GHz and 4GB RAM). Performance is okay, but is disappointing compared to other laptops with the same or similar specs. (It also feels cheap compared to other laptops at this price point.) This laptop does tend to run hot, and the fan will get loud. The screen is rather grainy, but not terrible. The addition of a webcam seems to have been an afterthought: images are pixellated; there is high discoloration; and video+sound don't sync up on HP's own software. The speakers are very loud, but sound is not very clear/undistorted even at the lowest volume. Concerning battery life, I can get through about 5 hours of note-taking on "Power Saver" and 3 hours on "HP Recommended." This may only be relevant to my experience, but after only a month of use, the keyboard failed. HP asked me to backup my data, send the laptop back so that they could wipe it and replace the keyboard, and get it back to me... which would have taken about a month. I ended up buying a compatible keyboard on Ebay and replacing it myself. I have owned this laptop for about a year now, and while it gets the job done... it was disappointing initially and is now frustrating at times. I'm simply waiting until the hard drive craps out or until enough time passes when I can by a more responsive non-HP brand laptop without feeling guilty.
I purchased this laptop in October from HP's website. It came with a lot of bloatware, which really slowed it down. After removing many of the third party applications pre-installed on the laptop it was much more responsive. When I bought the laptop, it qualified for a free upgrade to windows 7 and after installing Windows 7 it was like a whole new computer. It boots up faster and seems more responsive than with windows vista. In contrast to LawnMower Man's experience, my power supply is silent, the touchscreen responds well to my finger and stylus, and the laptop seems very sturdily built. The viewing angle of the screen could be better, but if the screen is facing you, you shouldn't have any problems. I didn't think I would find much of a difference between my old notebook and a tablet notebook, but it has completely changed how I browse the internet, read .pdfs, and take notes. The handwriting recognition software is pretty good out of the box, but you can train it to better recognise your handwriting so you can convert your hand written notes to text with few errors. I rarely ever use the touchpad mouse on the laptop. When using the tablet like a regular notebook, its much more convenient to move windows and highlight text directly on the screen than it ever was to manipulate a touchpad mouse. I've really enjoyed using this tablet so far. The touchscreen is responsive and accurate, and it was much cheaper than other tablet PCs on the market (e.g. lenovo).
I'll keep this short and sweet. **Do your homework before ordering this tablet** I bought mine in 7/2009 and am on my 4th one. Yes, I have sent it back for repair or replacement THREE times, and am waiting for the shipping box to return this one as well, as this one came back from repair with defective touchscreen, non-working fingerprint reader, buzzing power supply and an SD card reader which isn't screwed in (so it doesn't line up with the frame). Only HP could ship out such a POS. If this tablet PC actually worked as advertised it would be my dream notebook. It doesn't. In fact, it doesn't even come close. The problems which make this great idea a horrible notebook to own: -- The mouse cursor jumps to a certain point on the screen over and over (sometimes clicking, which is always fun when that 'spot' is over the X button). The 'certain point' varies by the notebook, sometimes it is lower left, some right,.. you get the idea. Add to this the makers of the touch panel, N-trig, have yet to make fully working drivers for any OS. N-trig, the company which tells you flat out that updating your tablet's driver can render it irreparable.. and they mean it! TONS of people have had to return their TX2z to HP for replacement because the touch driver killed their tablet. -- The power supply buzzes.. loudly! The buzzing varies by how bright the screen is. If you are superman and can see the screen turned all the way down, it is ignorable. If you want to see your screen, it buzzes to no end. If you want a bright screen, grab your ear plugs. -- The fingerprint reader works.. sometimes. More specifically, it works about ~25% of the time. The other 75% of the time it completely ignores your finger swipes. That, of course, is assuming the software doesn't crash (yes, even on a fresh install). -- It's a tablet, you can hold it at any angle.. you just can't see it at any angle! The screen turns to a bright mush if you hold the tablet at any angle besides directly. If you are drawing, or writing, and want to adjust for your hand position, you no longer get to see the screen because it washes out. If you really love this tablet, you can buy mine, just as soon as HP sends it back from repair.. FOR THE FOURTH TIME.
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While all of these bad factors can be real detractors, it does not mean that the HP TouchSmart tx2z is not a good notebook overall. In fact, it is probably one of the best in the netbook range simply because of its ability to turn into a tablet as well as being used as a connection station for almost every type of port possible. The price of the netbook is perfect for businesses, who would be the main type of customers who would benefit from the ability to turn it into a tablet. However, if you have the extra cash laying around, the HP TouchSmart tx2z is currently available for $769.99 and can be bought online from HP through their website.