Once again, we had such a difficult choice to make that we selected the two systems that ran away with top honors: the Lenovo ThinkCentre M90z and the HP TouchSmart 9100.
The HP TouchSmart 9100-series is a very capable system. I have used them since the consumer TouchSmart IQ518, and continued through the dx9000 until the 9100.
Over this time, the systems have gotten better, and the included TouchSmart UI and software has gotten better, with a number of apps being released periodically that take advantage of the experience possible using TouchSmart.
Physically, the 23” touchscreen is responsive, and the use of Intel Core i2 CPUs help that responsiveness. Furthermore, HP has continued to innovate around the UI, and has just revved TouchSmart to version 4.0, an upgrade we had hoped to perform this weekend. (We didn’t.)
A new entrant to our orbit, Lenovo has gained mindshare with systems that are in a word, solid!
Since we started down the Lenovo path with the ThinkCentre A63 a while back, I have been impressed with the build quality of the ThinkCentre systems, and when I got the opportunity to try the ThinkCentre M90z, I jumped at it.
Utilizing a 23” touchscreen, the M90z features a bright – and I do mean really bright – monitor. Touch functionality is quick and responsive, and unlike HP, Lenovo doesn’t have a touch UI. What you do get is an unobtrusive, easily-programmed touch-enabled app launcher, while the system relies on the touch functionality built into each and every copy of Windows 7.
My review unit came with the Intel Core i5 microprocessor, and as with every Lenovo system I have reviewed recently, boots up from a complete power off state to a usable Windows 7 desktop in less than 30 seconds. (My best time has been 26.5 seconds!) It is truly a marvel
As you can see here, I take touch functionality seriously, using both a touchscreen, and a Tablet PC in my daily computing. In fact, if you want to be a recipient of this award, you would either have to have touch, or be so innovative that we overlook touch.
