Simon Hendery: Touch-screen PC quite a kitchen whiz

Dell has got the mix about right with the software on the Studio One 19. Photo / Supplied

REVIEW
Dell Studio One 19
Price: Three models priced from $1849 to $2399
Summary: A stylish option if you need a family PC that matches the kitchen decor.
Rating: **** (out of five)

The gleaming appliance-white Dell Studio One 19 desktop PC looked right at home on our kitchen bench.

It blended into the kitchen environment so well it was tempting to give its equally shiny-white wireless keyboard and mouse a quick wipe with the dishcloth every now and then.

Being untethered from the one-piece combination screen and processing unit, the keyboard and mouse nearly found themselves assigned their own space in a kitchen drawer - somewhere they could be stowed when they weren't being used.

And because the machine we were testing was the more expensive touch-screen version of the Studio One, operating the PC without its keyboard or mouse was often a viable option.

In most situations touch-screen PCs are more a novelty than a useful tool. Usually, it you want to get something substantial done on the PC you'll need a mouse and keyboard. But if you do have a touch-screen in the kitchen, and want to quickly check your email while you're waiting for the jug to boil, a couple of taps on the 19-inch screen will do the job.

In the past, makers of touch-enabled PCs tended to get carried away with the touch element of their computers and devised complex software interfaces that have overshadowed the standard operating system.

But Dell has got the mix about right with the Touch Zone control software that ships with Studio One.

Touch Zone is pre-set to launch when the machine starts and appears as an opaque semi-circular graphic that sits fairly unobtrusively on top of the Windows Vista desktop and can be easily banished if you don't need it.

If you do want to let your fingers do the tapping, however, the Touch Zone wheel - made up of large program icons - can be spun with a light touch until you reach the application you're after, which is then opened with another tap on the keyboard.

There is a New Zealand connection to the Touch Zone system: it is based on Fingertapps technology developed by Palmerston North software company Unlimited Reality, with the local business receiving a royalty on every unit Dell sells.

The Studio One we tested was a solid performer. The 19-inch screen is large enough for most day-to-day computing tasks. Our model had Intel Core 2 Duo processors and 3 gigabytes of RAM which meant it could run Vista Home Premium pretty effortlessly. It came with a 640 gigabyte hard drive.

That top-end configuration comes at a relatively hefty price of $2399.

The cheapest Studio One option is an Intel Pentium-powered version with 2GB of RAM and a 320GB hard drive.

Costing $1849, it still comes with a 19-inch screen, but without the touch functionality.

As well as white, it comes in blue, pink and red.