Let’s start with a quick overview of its specs. The TouchSmart 610 which Engagdet got their hands on retails at $1,459.99 and featured a 23-inch screen which outputs at a resolution of 1920 x 1080 (Full HD), a quad core Intel Core i7-2600 (3.4GHz) processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1.5TB HDD, a Blu-ray drive, NVIDIA GeForce GT 425M (2GB) graphics and a built in TV tuner. To put this some sort of context you have to pay $1,499 for the 21.5-inch iMac which features a quad core Intel Core i5 (2.7GHz) processor, 4GB of RAM, a 1TB HDD, a DVD Writer, AMD Radeon HD 6770M (512MB) graphics and no TV tuner. As you can see in terms of performace hardware you get a lot more for your money from HP’s offering.

Review Summary

You can check out Engadget’s fully detailed review here, they score it 8/10 and were particularly impressed by its gorgeous 1080p touchscreen display, its great performance (especially considering the price) and the sliding hinge design. As for things they were less impressed with Engadget say that the keyboard isn’t perfect, the design isn’t as minimalistic as some of its rivals and also some parts look a bit cheap and tacky.

As mentioned in the previous paragraph the 610′s performance is astonishing, Engadget say that no-matter what they threw at it, it never slowed down. This great performance showed in the benchmark tests, in the Geekbench test the 610 outperformed the 3.4GHz Core i7-2600K-based 2011 iMac by over 500 points. The HP TouchSmart 610 scored 8,982 points in the test, whilst Apple’s iMac scored 8,465 in the same test.

Engadget weren’t too impressed with the 610′s keyboard, they said that while it was comfortable for typing on in short bursts it wouldn’t be ergonomically sound for people who type more than the average person, this was due to it having a thin, flat design.

When it comes to touchscreen functionality and apps Engadget complimented HP’s TouchSmart software, but suggested that there was room for improvement. Pre-installed apps which are designed for touch control include Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Hulu, eBay and more, these are great for quick access to popular services, however a little lacking in intuitiveness. The fact is that when it comes to desktop computing these apps won’t be used as much as touch apps are on smartphones and tablets etc, therefore despite the TouchSmart software being much better than before it is not a dealmaker or breaker for consumers.

As previously mentioned if you want to find out more about the TouchSmart 610 check out Engadget’s review. Will you buy the HP TouchSmart 610?

However, according to Joel Santo Domingo at pcmag.com, it can be purchased at hpdirect.com from 22nd September. With the TouchSmart 310, you can connect to sites such as Netflix and Hulu via its new touch interface and HP’s App Center.

The TouchSmart 310 – that has a starting price of $699.99 – comes with an integrated ATSC/HDTV tuner, which allows users to either watch or record High-Definition content on its 20-inch 1600 x 900-pixel display.

It comes complete with a wireless keyboard and mouse, as well as ATI Radeon HD4270 graphics, a spacious 1TB of storage, ample memory of 4GB and a powerful dual-core Athlon II 240e processor.

What are your thoughts on the new HP TouchSmart 310, and will you be upgrading?