Packard Bell oneTwo 20-inch: Review

Packard Bell oneTwo 20-inch

We meditate on this all-in-one media content PC

The latest Packard Bell oneTwo is concerned with optimising multitouch technology. In fact the company is extremely excited about this functionality – which is unsurprising, being the way forward when it comes to producing leisurely and sophisticated management of media content. However, has that eagerness seen this all-in-one desktop solution overlook more practical functions? The oneTwo is a machine that certainly seems capable of complementing Photoshop users through numerous operations. All are admittedly entertaining and provide hands-on enjoyment. With its 1,600 x 900 resolution display, the 20-inch oneTwo provides HD standards. Although beaten by the 23-inch model, it makes for optimum viewing of detailed and sharpened graphic imagery, and large-sized photo stock.

Multipurpose viewing: With HD graphics, movies, graphics-intensive applications, gaming, internet surfing and digital TV are all optimised viewing

Enter the TouchPortal and your image viewing is hugely enhanced in terms of aesthetics. Touch the PowerCinema icon (play button) and you’ll have access to YouCam, Movies, Videos, Music and importantly Photos options. Here you can access your works from the Folders menu – from either your hard drive or external drives – and scroll through images, making it a nice presentation tool. This comes with standard options such as Duration and Effects. Clicking on the pencil icon enables you to apply remedial Fix options such as Red Eye, Crop and Auto Fix.

Alternatively, those looking for a more hands-on facility can select the Microsoft Surface Collage option (collage button). All JPEG images stored in your Windows>Libraries>Pictures folder, can be displayed and gestured live. Users can drag and drop to add/subtract images, pinch to zoom in and out, rotate and generally house all images for detailed scrutiny – making it great for proofing design. A nice touch here is the ability to save collections to hard drive and instantly apply as your desktop wallpaper.

MediaShare: MediaShare, via the TouchPortal, allows you to specify your community and communication accounts for Flickr, Facebook and email

Interfacing with clients and friends couldn’t be simpler with the oneTwo. Acting as a great go-between on social platforms, its built-in enables you to instantly exchange image material through community sites such as Flickr and Facebook. It also provides photo update notifications and instant browsing – all streamed straight to your desktop via the TouchFriends view window. TouchMediaShare offers enhanced photo management, letting you edit, magnify and email images directly to designated communities and persons. Both options could be a valuable tool when working on time-sensitive briefs with an international clientele.

The oneTwo multitouch functionality is highly intuitive and as sensitive as expected. Handling takes a little time to acclimatise, but once you have, it’s effortless. Thinking outside the creative box, the oneTwo’s pressure levels allow you to apply a stylus directly to screen, making a surprisingly competent retouch and digital paint platform. This model’s Intel Pentium Dual Core processor T4300 and 640GB memory make it more than adequate to run up to Photoshop CS5. These levels can be increased up to Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8200s S775, 1TB memory. Picking off all the bells and whistles to maximise efficiency, this machine is capable of becoming a competent creative machine of the 2D variety, especially for those on a budget.