Apple’s iMac (27-inch) is the apple many people would become sinners for. It’s the all-in-one desktop that sparked a revolution among computers, and no matter how many similar computers have come before it, iMac is the only one that has been able to match style and performance, and pack both into one body.
On the other hand, the HP Touch Smart looks good at first glance, but can we really compare it to the iMac? Let’s start with its touch screen, which is probably the best on the market. But is everything having a touch screen? We admit that he is interesting to play with, but let’s go a little further. The HP Touch Smart really looks like a capable enough all-in-one; however, compared to similar computers on the market, it loses credibility. For general entertainment we recommend the iMac. Read on to learn what we discovered by exploring these two computers a bit more.
The iMac features that are definitely worth mentioning are the new multi-touch wireless mouse and a slim wireless keyboard. However, the third and most important part of this Apple trilogy is the LED-backlit display with a native resolution of 2,560×1,440 pixels, giving you the feeling of actually being on the film set while filming is taking place! Any desktop computer screen compared to the iMac is in our book, in a word: unmatched! You’d need to have at least a 30-inch monitor to enjoy watching movies as closely as you could with the iMac, which brings us to the extra $1,000 or more you’ll pay. One more display-related fact that might catch your attention is Apple’s claim that the iMac’s LCD screen has a 178-degree viewing angle. In layman’s terms, well, the iMac’s resolution is 2,560 X 1,440, while the HP touchscreen is “only” 1,920 X 1,200.
Compared to the iMac’s 178-degree view, another weakness we found in HP’s design is that the high-definition display aspect promising, however, to be sure of the viewing angle because you may see strange images and dark spots in places you shouldn’t. Another drawback, especially for movie lovers, is that you can’t use the touchscreen to select the Blu-ray features of the movie you’re currently watching. So what do you have to do? Well, you have to touch a virtualized remote to move between the selections. And every high-tech junkie knows that no matter how cool it is at first, all toys get boring after a while.
As for the built-in gadgets, you can find a camera, antenna, stereo speakers, and an IR receiver, however, we’ll say this even before a question mark appears over your head: there’s no Blu-ray. With Blu-ray so all the rage right now, we were surprised that they don’t actually give us that ultimate and complete pleasure when we’re watching movies on the computer. The iMac does not have a TV tuner either, but what does it matter, with all the other features that this Apple has, we assure you that the only worm could it’s because some evil minds on the internet send you viruses or get your credit card number.
In fact, there was one other thing we saw that wasn’t so practical: the camera. Since it’s integrated, you can say goodbye to showing your new apartment to your distant cousin. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it, we’re just saying: find an easier option and shoot with your own camera. The HP Touch Smart, on the other hand, in addition to the built-in basics, has Blu-Ray, S-video output, and a standard coaxial cable input for the included TV tuner. So after just a few button presses, IQ816 transforms into an HD-ready TV. The keyboard, while slim and sleek, offers no additional features except for volume control buttons that allow you to mute and sleep options. It seems they thought of everything, because we know for a fact that many people have a tendency to fall asleep in front of their computers, while watching movies at home of course.
As for the processors, the iMac comes with a 3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and the HP TouchSmart with a 2.100 GHz Core 2 Duo T8100. Memory doesn’t differ much as both come with 4 GB installed memory that can be updated. When it comes to graphics, the iMac has ATI Radeon HD 4670 (256 MB) and HP Nvidia GeForce 9600M FS. So, in general, it depends on what technical characteristics you prefer to have.
And now, let’s talk about the guarantee. Both the HP Touch Smart and iMac have a 1-year limited warranty and free 90-day phone technical support on iMac. Are you curious about the prices? Well, the HP will set you back around $2,000 and the iMac around $1,700.
After comparing these two computers, what else can we say except that when you’re looking for a new computer, you should remember the advice your grandmother gave you: fruit is good for you!