Everybody loves this computer! It is a real show stopper with the all-in-one design and the creative touches. The designers did a great job with this and all my friends insist on playing with it.
I got the computer for my Mother-in-Law (whom I adore) because she has been a computer phobe and the touchscreen, the wireless keyboard and mouse, and the installed HP apps really lend themselves to breaking down some of those barriers.
But, most of all, I love the support that I got from the HP techs on a networking issue that I had due to another product. These guys spent hours on the phone with me troubleshooting what turned out to be another manufacturer's problem. They were incredibly knowledgeable on lots of aspects of the system and helped me for a long time on Thanksgiving evening.
I'm not sure why everyone else's reviews are so negative. The machine boots up so quickly--it goes from asleep to functional in 5 seconds. Literally. I haven't played with the touch screen apps a whole lot but this machine does a great job ripping and burning media discs. It has a fast hard drive and optical drive and provides flawless playback of DVD movies. I haven't used the TV tuner yet but my sister has on her computer and loves it. DVR without having to pay a monthly fee! Windows 7 doesn't feel that different from Vista, and regardless of whether you like it or not, this is a great machine. My only real complaint is that the super-thin keyboard has a slightly different layout of the delete key (it's huge!) and it throws an experienced typist off for the first little while. Other than that, an incredible, relatively portable machine for less than a decent laptop.
The days of people opening up their computers and tinkering with the parts inside have passed. I worked at a laptop repair facility for years and used to be a stalwart opponent of Macs, all-in-ones, and laptops for people who did not need portable computing. Recently, however, I have changed my mind--computers are so cheap and peripherals are advancing so quickly compared to the processors, RAM, etc. that computers have become replaceable as a unit and not cost-effectively serviceable with replacement parts. I bought this computer to replace my "serviceable" home-made unit and absolutely love it. It will get me by for the next 3-5 years, and then I will replace it as a unit instead of trying to "upgrade" it one part at a time. The real appeal of this computer, besides its looks, is that there is only one cord--a power cord. It has made my office much more tidy and pleasant to work in. I can move the computer to a different room in the house by unplugging its one cord and carrying it.
I only use my computer for word, web browsing, movies, and hosting my media collection. I depend on my computer to run these apps at once, quietly, and fast. This is something that is done by most well built computers. For the first few days I had the computer the touch screen is quite fascinating, but after a while you tend to question the actual usefulness of this. Most of the time you will find yourself using your mouse and keyboard instead of touching the screen, quite frankly it's faster. The touch screen has odd response time in some situations, but it is not a bad computer. The best is the touchsmart application. You can run your music, photos, web, video, through a program which focuses on touch use (in fact it is easier to touch than dragging the mouse around). The program reminds you why you brought a touch screen instead of a another computer with more tech and less price. Touchsmart also has special built applications to netflix, pandora, hulu, and can be personalized to add youtube and any other application you want. Another thing about the touchsmart which most people don't bring up is the space saving it provides. This was the reason I brought it instead of a normal windows computer. The monitor/hard drive are connected and the keyboard and mouse are wireless (you don't need batteries).