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HP TouchSmart tm2 review

2010-05-17-hp-touchsmart-tm2-reviewSo after waiting for the reveal of Apple’s once “mythical” tablet to be revealed, only to end up being as disappointed as Japanese Anne of Green Gables fans after traveling half way around the world to see the real deal, I decided I was going to buy a Windows based tablet. The Microsoft Courier looked interesting but a bit out there and the HP Slate looked rocking although a bit underspec’d.

I decided to hold out for the Slate.

Then… like that… on the same day… both the Slate and Courier were kiboshed ( http://jkontherun.com/2010/04/30/ms-courier-hp-slate-canceled ) though to be fair, Microsoft never intended the Courier to be a shipping product.  Given the timeline in which this took place (HP acquiring Palm) the writing was on the wall that the Slate was going to become a web OS device. Although this would provide more versatility than what the iPad has to offer, I wanted a full blown OS on a tablet… nothing less… so I decided to take the HP TouchSmart tm2 for a roll.

This purchase thus far has left me with zero regrets… it’s sturdy, but not heavy, small but unlike a netbook it doesnt make me feel like The Friendly Giant when I’m using it, and most of all… it works… it really, really works…
The ATI GPU model is not available in Canada but I had no intention of using a tablet for high end gaming anyways so the Intel Core 2 Duo model with integrated graphics is more than enough for my needs. 4 gigs of RAM and good battery life (6 hours average from my observations) and a sexy chicklet keyboard, hey what else would I need?

The screen has a nice sized bezel for when your in total tablet mode, the capacitive multitouch screen works very nicely and it comes with a stylus.  Although not put through it’s paces, the pressure sensitive stylus uses Wacom’s industry leading technology.  (ED NOTE: the lack of pen usage may be largely due to the reviewer’s addiction to playing Plants vs. Zombies in tablet mode).

It doesn’t come without some gripes however… I have NEVER seen a computer come preloaded with this much bloatware.  It’s astounding how many hours you will spend removing 90% of it. The drivers for the touch pad offer no option to toggle off touch to click… which is infuriating… However my biggest gripe is the fruity design etched onto it… the tm2 screams to be skinned.

Ultimately, the pros far outweigh the cons on this bad boy. If your looking for a tablet, consider the HP TouchSmart tm2.

ED NOTE:  It should be pointed out that there is a rumour that HP is planning to update the tm2 convertible tablet line up with faster Core i3 and i5 CPUs this summer, possibly as early as June.  This means faster, cooler, and less power hungry.  Also, the ATI GPU version has already been demo’ed to run modering games like Call of Duty and Left 4 Dead at decent frame rates, though we haven’t tried them personally.  Just to give you some options.

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