HP's outed the next round of updates to the TouchSmart Software suite, the integrated software package combining finger-friendly apps for note taking, music, video, photos, and more, and is showcasing it at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The updated TouchSmart Software is currently shipping on new TouchSmart desktop PCs, and will be offered as an update to existing TouchSmart PCs sometime in the near future.

HP's got a plethora of improvements crammed in to the Spring update. While some are smaller improvements, like adding search and print fuctionality to existing apps, others make for big changes that dramatically improve the usefulness of the software.

Without further adeiu, here's a sneak peek at what's coming to a TouchSmart near you.

Calendar

The TouchSmart Calendar app may look similar at first glance, but HP has put significant effort streamining the calendars depth and usability. It's now easier to manage, edit, and track events. You'll also see some improvements in synchronization with Google Calendar, and the handy Sync Now button is certainly a welcome change.

Photo Viewer

There's lot's of exciting new stuff in the TouchSmart Photo App to be found. Sure, previous iterations let you view pictures... but not a whole lot else. Thanks to some hefty upgrades, the TouchSmart Photo App is quickly becoming one of the more solid apps in the suite.

First, some smaller, but essential updates really give you tools to discover and manage a photo library right within the app. For example, you can now search for images using the handy search box... simple, but VERY useful. Second, there's a new ratings and tagging system to help you organize and browse for favorite or similar pictures. Looking for more flexibility with slideshows? No worries... they've baked in the necessary features to create custom slideshows within the suite.

Not only are your discovery and playback features improved, but HP has switched from a photo viewer to a photo management suite with the inclusion of some simple editing controls. It's certainly not as full featured in this department as Google's Picasa 2, but the most commonly needed adjustments (red-eye removal and an auto-enhancement) feature are there.

The red eye removal tool was simple to use and worked fairly well. However, I didn't have a ton of luck with the automatic adjustment feature, which tended to oversaturate and over-brighten most images I tried. It's not going to replace your main photo editor, but it does let you do some quick touchups in a pinch. I'm hoping to see this area expanded in future updates.

Finally, another one of those "simple-but-useful" enhancements is the ability to print photos directly to any local or network printer. Handy for when a family member catches a photo in a SlideShow and wants a copy.

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