This is a compensated review by BlogHer and HP.
A few weeks ago I got an email asking if I’d be interested in reviewing a new HP TouchSmart 600 computer. And yes, I was interested, because I am a nerd and always terribly entertained by anything that plugs in and has a screen, but since I’d never seen the TouchSmart before, I had a mental image of a big, clunky desktop coming into the house. Besides that, we haven’t owned a PC in about ten years, and part of me wondered if accepting the HP was some unforgivable act of Mac betrayal.
But then I remembered the 10 year-old Mac desktop in my office (that, bless its heart, can’t run more than two applications at a time before it starts to wheeze), and I got over my reservations. BRING ON THE HP.
The new TouchSmart arrived a few days later, and y’all, I cannot tell you how impressed we have been by this computer. We love it. It looks great (do you see how skinny it is?), and when David was setting it up, I actually asked him where the rest of it was. It’s essentially the same size as a flat-screen TV. In fact, it can work as a TV – you just plug in your cable and you’re good to go. It can also work as a DVR (CAN I GET AN AMEN?) or a BluRay movie player. There’s even a remote. Be still my heart.
And I wish y’all could have seen my husband’s reaction when he realized that you can mount the TouchSmart on the wall. Suffice it to say that his eyes lit up and then glazed over and I thought for a brief moment that he might need to sit down and put his head between his knees.
We started using the TouchSmart approximately 53 seconds after we set it up, and while I didn’t know how much I’d use all the bells and whistles in our day-to-day routine, I have to say that the touchscreen features are actually my very favorite part. Besides the fact that it makes me feel like Tom Cruise in “Minority Report” when I move my finger around the screen and resize pictures and create collages and pretend like I’m some sort of technological wizard, it’s just so EASY. I can write notes, save recipes, browse the web, play a movie via our Netflix account, laugh at something on Hulu, listen to my Pandora playlist, edit photos and so much more – all without touching a keyboard or a mouse. The computer HAS a keyboard and a mouse, of course (they’re wireless!), and you can use them with any of the TouchSmart applications – but once you get the hang of the touchscreen, it’s oh-so-convenient and fun.
I really could go on and on – about how Alex loves it, about how the touchscreen is COMPLETELY intuitive for a child, about how I adore the Recipe Box feature that lets me add any recipe I happen to run across on the web and will even READ THE RECIPE OUT LOUD TO ME while I cook. But I’m going to quit talking now because we need to get this giveaway started. I think it’s time.
So.
If you’d like to win an HP TouchSmart 600 computer, leave a comment below and tell me where you’d put the computer if you won. Family room? Office? Playroom? Kitchen? Inside Mama’s closet where NO ONE ELSE CAN TOUCH IT? On top of a thrift store desk that you overhauled with turquoise spray paint?
Or, if you’d like, you can leave a comment with a link to a post about the HP on your blog.
And whatever you do, please make sure that your email address is correct.
This contest will begin December 9th and end December 24th.
Before I forget:
1) If you’d like more information about this computer, just click on over to HP’s official site.
2) Rules!
• No duplicate comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by linking on Twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
• This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older (I’m so sorry, Canada).
• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
• You have 48 hours to get back to me; otherwise a new winner will be selected.
• Please see the official rules here: Official Rules.
The winner will be selected using random.org.
Also, there are four other bloggers giving away the HP TouchSmart 600 (that means there are five free computers up for grabs, people), so check out the BlogHer.com special offers page for links to their sites. You can enter to win on all five blogs.
Happy TouchSmarting, everybody!
Thursday 12/10 at 8:40pm – comments seem to be working just fine again. Thanks for your patience!
This giveaway is now closed.
I’d put the computer in the family room as that is where we homeshcool (and it’s close to the kitchen to be used for recipes).
Well… I didn’t realize you could mount it on the wall and run your cable, etc. through it. I might have to out it in the living room. Do they make a 60 inch? *drool drool** now I must have one!
I’d like to enter my sister Julie and her family in this awesome contest. What an exciting surprise this would be for them to win a super fancy computer to replace their dying one. Woohoo! Her email is foxlafox@hotmail.com. Mine is tomelissa@gmail.com
Thanks, Melissa
This fancy new PC will go straight to my daughter to help run her internet business!
Winning the computer would force me to create a space in our house FOR the computer. My laptop currently floats from room to room.
I would put this in our home office so everyone could see it. Clearly.
I’d put it in the kitchen, right where our old, wheezy Mac now sits. :)
This would go in the studio/office adjacent to our kitchen and family room. My husband is a graphic artist and a new computer that can run his graphic software would allow him to work from home and spend more time with us–making the kids and I the real recipients :-) More time with Daddy–YAY!
I am what you call the absolute “blog stalker.” I love to read blogs and find so many blogs completely inspirational. Although I read more blogs a day than I care to admit, I have yet to create my own blog (although daily I create posts in my head) due to the lack of a home computer. Winning this computer would make it possible to actually write down my “ever so clever” posts. ;)
On my desk, to replace the HP that my husband just tried to kill by installing some thingamabob that will supposedly give his his laptop an HD signal (WHY does that matter, can someone please tell me??) except that he had to download a gazillion gigs of other stuff first and it made my previously content computer *very* unhappy and now I get all kinds of warning messages every time I restart. O Boomama, please send the HP fairies to help me!
I would finally start my own blog and one for my parents. This little thing sounds amazing.
I would put that baby right here on my desk amongst my scrappy stuff.
I would put that beauty anywhere!!!!!
In the office. What a great giveaway!
Our cpu needs and upgrade
I love the intuitive part of this computer and how many applications it has. Wow, what a wonderful tool.
Thanks for the review and the giveaway.
Kathy
kathyh_fl at bellsouth dot net
My husband has a MAC and I would love to show him up with having my own HP Touch screen computer! I would put it in our Loft, where he would have to see me using it all the time! I have a feeling we will end up fighting over who gets to use it!
What a great Christmas gift!
This beauty would go on my husband’s desk which just happens to be in our bedroom for the moment. He would totally flip over the flat screen/cable-ready/dvr stuff.
I would love this computer to give to my mom! She lives far away so we Skype often, however her Dell from the late 90’s finally bit the dust! She has taught for 30 years and is not in a position to get herself a new computer. I wish I were able to do this for her but I’m not. This is a plus that this one is so fancy it would last her forever! Merry Christmas!
I would put it in the KITCHEN. The hub of our house and it would totally have to be mounted to the wall.
I would put this in my bedroom on my desk so the two teenagers can’t get their mitts on it. Everytime I go to Best Buy I always look at the HP Smartouch computer and dream of having one someday. I would really love to win because I am so tired of having to share the computer with two teenagers.
we have one computer in our house, it is in the living room, if i won this new computer it would go to my bedroom. their is always tension in our house over the computer i have two teenage sons and they use the computer alot. this would help ease the tension over the computer if i had one for my very own.
This computer sounds awesome! I would love to win! I would put the computer in our study for the whole family to use!
I would put this in my little sister’s room. She is thinking of going to graduate school and no longer has a computer. I would like to help her pursue her dream of becoming a child psychologist by giving her the tools she would need to achieve it!
Oooh… I would put it on the desk in the family room to replace the ancient Leviathon that lives there now. And, since we don’t have TV, we would gather round it to watch the upcoming Winter Olympics. How eXciting!
I would probably move it often, frequently from the bedroom to the living room to the kitchen etc. Like a laptop, but so very much cooler.
What an aweseome computer! Love all the features and portability!
In my kitchen so that I don’t have to take both of my young girls all of the way upstairs to look up a recipe for dinner…and then take them back downstairs after I get the recipe!
Why? Who wouldn’t want this computer? I think it would be a great kitchen hub for recipes and checking the weather, etc. And I’d love my kids to try out the touch screen as they can’t quite work a mouse, yet.
What an awesome computer! I’d love to win one; if I did, I’d put it in our downstairs family room.
I would put it in the Harry Potter Closet aka all things Momma closet! :) Something like this just cannon be left where grabby, sticky-fingers Sesame can snatch away! :) Merry Christmas!
I would definitely place it in my living room :)
Wow. I’d love to replace the “wheezy” computer I’m typing on right now!! (It’s on the desk in my bedroom.) Thanks for the chance to win. :)
I would love to hide it in my closet where my son and hubby could not find it but I have to say that I would give it to my hubby cuz he deserves a new one!!
Oh! what a great give a way. I would put it on my desk to replace the ten year old dinosaur computer and monitor that takes up way too much space. :)
I twittered…
(That sounds kinda gross.)
it would go on my antique desk in my work-from-home office!!
I would love this computer. It could read out my recipes to me!!! this would be great so I don’t have to run back and forth to see what ingredient and step is next. I would put it in my office!!!
oh i would so put that baby in my craft room (ok, so in my craft CORNER!) and be delighted to have my own personal computer that I don’t have to share !! Thanks for the chance to win it!
I would put it on the kitchen counter! :)
I would sooo put this in my office and hug and squeeze it and hand my pitifully slow laptop right over to my husband…cause I’m generous like that! ha!
I would totally put this in my bedroom so that it is one of the last things that I see before I go to sleep and the first thing I see every morning…which isn’t creepy at all, right?
I would hide this in my bedroom! I have shared the comuter in the family room with my kids orever. We all stand in line to us it. Our computer is very slow and the keyboard sticks horribly!
I would love to win a new computer! It would be the first one that I could call my own! I would put it in my newly built craft room/office. Thanks for the opportunity!
This would be a great blessing and addition to a tiny household with two little girls that are fascinated with learning anything using a computer. Our computer is in the wheezing stage. :)
I would love to win one of these bad boys!! They look absolutely divine…how sweet it would be if I won!! Thanks for the chance. Happy Holidays!!!
Well, If I happen to win…. I would put it where the old one is, on the desk just off from the kitchen. I am on hammy-down monitor #2. We could use a new addition to our house and since we already have twins who are almost 4, a new PC is just what we need! Merry Christmas!:)
would throw out our old computer pronto and put it on the built in desk in the kitchen! oh my word!
I would love to have this for our home office. Thanks for the opportunity!
Wow Sophie, this is like big time give-away! It took my computer 15 minutes to move down all the entries—I have a S L O W computer. Even FACEBOOK is Frozen!! I think if this was the HP’s new home, it would go in my office which is a closet re-done to be a wannabe office. Lisa told me about this as I’ve not been on much and am still struggling with health issues. Had a biopsy this a.m. for skin cancer this a.m. and now I have shingles. Appreciate your prayers. Look forward to seeing you next month, Lord willing!
Wow – this is really some giveaway! I think it might just havve to live in the family room, seeing as it can play movies. Or, there’s the kitchen since it’ll read recipes to me! Decisions, decisions!
I would put it in my living room, so my 2 kids, husband, & I could share it. It would be so awesome if we won it. We have a hammy down computer right now and its been the only one we have ever had. Thanks for the chance to win. Can’t wait till you announce the winner..Merry christmas to you and your family…:)
I would put it in our loft, right on the school desk where the light will shine perfectly off its beautiful self.
I would put the in our playroom…I know risky, but it works for us :)
Thanks
I would send it to my grandkids.
Ok these things never work for me. I am not someone who wins things, but of course I would love one of these. My sister has one, and it is truly an amazing computer. I would put it in the living for everyone to use.
Angie
I would put this in the kitchen for my beautiful wife to use. We’re huge cooking fan’s and love to pull our meals online.
She really is amazing and I’d love to surprise her with something she’d enjoy.
I would love to not have to share a computer with my 3 kids and hubby!!
I cannot tell a lie – it would totally go in my home office and I’d use it for my business!
tweeted
http://twitter.com/Angie_MomofSix/status/6715028043
blogged
http://helpmeettosam.blogspot.com/2009/12/hp-touchsmart-600-giveaway.html
I would put it in our family room and replace the giant dinosaur PC that currently resides there. :)
Would love to win! Since my dh lost his job the internet is our only luxury right now. How fun would this be to have in our home!
It would be enjoyed by the whole family.
Jane@brignone.us
Wow! Would love to win one of these!!
JIm
I would love to give this to my son. He lives in Colorado and I miss him so much.
He is missing his nephew (age 3) and niece (age 3 mos) and this could help keep him close to them with the pictures and webcam capability.
Hmm…it would absolutely go on my empty, computerless office desk.
I’d put it on the green desk that is in the space near our dining room that we haven’t quite figured out what to do with yet. The desk is green, because it used to be my mom’s desk, and she did all the hard work of re-staining it green before I was born. The green desk got handed down to me, and we like the quirkiness that it brings.
Love this new touch screen computer would love even more in my home.
I would put it in my classroom. What a great addition to my math lessons…manipulating online manipulatives via the lcd projector.
What a great give away. I would put it in our schoolroom. I homeschool my 7 blessings. We would all love to have this… It would be enjoyed by our whole family. The kids would really enjoy doing reports and work more. Thank You for sharing your give away. Have a great day. Blessings,
I would love to have this! We are ind need of a new computer anyway! :)
I blogged about it here http://chapatesfamilyfun.blogspot.com/2009/12/want-chance-at-new-computer.html
I would put my computer on the seat of a ferris wheel, in the compartment reserved for just me.
Camee
Most likely in the den. My husband would like one where he spends the most time rather than having to come upstairs to use one.
I would put it in our study, where our daughter would be able to use it. She’s only 5, but loves to use the computer to learn on!
I would love to win this computer. It would so help us out with homework and tutoring as well as give me the ability to work from home several days a week.
My husband needs a Christmas present. He is a hard worker, the best husband ever, we’re expecting our first little boy in April, and agreed we wouldn’t spend money on each other (so this isn’t breaking the rules, is it?). For his job, he needs a high tech phone. and a high tech computer (which apparently this IS!) and I can’t get him either. Oh how he would love a computer!
I tweeted here http://twitter.com/Ness4689
Oh my, a computer in my kitchen? That sounds so posh! I really must have one in my kitchen now, and if it would read recipes to me, my husband would have to let it live there, he couldn’t say no! I’m feeling more domestic already- must search for new recipes to be read aloud…..
I would put it on the desk in my kitchen. Love the recipe box feature.
I would put it in the living room. We are a homeschooling family and this would be great to replace our ancient computer that “freezes” and “wheezes” all the time.
tinaharden@rocketmail.com
I blogged about your giveaway here:
http://adayinthelifeofahomeschoolingmom.blogspot.com/2009/12/wow-check-out-this-great-computer.html
tinaharden@rocketmail.com
This piece of loveliness would go on my non-existent, yet fancy-in-my-mind desk…in my soon to be office…of my up and coming graphic design business. Now, if I can just get to work.
Oh My Goodness! I would love to win this!!!!As for where I would put it…..it would be mine, all mine! I wouldn’t put it anywhere, where anyone else could see it…they would have to keep their fingers OFF my touchscreen. Please number numerator, make it mine…..
I would put it in my office.
OMG!!! I never win anything so please change my no-luck streak…..this is awesome!!! I can’t even begin to list all of the ways this would make my life soooo much cooler!!!
lmmark1@cox.net
On top of our tallest desk where our two year old’s long toddler arms can’t reach it!
I’d LOVE to gift this to my best friend and his son(my godson) who currently do not have a computer!! So it will be placed in their home for their enjoyment if I was to be so blessed to win!!
Thanks for the chance to win!!
tweeted
http://twitter.com/JoeyfromSC/status/6724842433
i think i would mount it in the bathroom so we can never be too far from our dvr! just kidding… in the office, of course :)
I’d put it right here, in my little workspace.
I hope I win, we really need a new computer around here!
I would put it in the kitchen. It’s the heart of our home!!
Thank you for this giveaway, it would be great in the kitchen, so cool you can mount it on the wall.
Thanks
I would definetly put it in my grateroom where it would get used constantly!
This would be in the dining room, where I do most of my photo editing.
Would love one of these! What a neat give away.
This would be so awesome!! I would put it in the kitchen for family management!!
If I was the lucky winner, I would put this computer on a desk in my dining room so my son could do his homework in there instead of in my bedroom.
Thanks!
I would love one of these…my husband started a new home based business and is always on his computer. I need one to use and I love the sleek design of the touchscreen.
kjdavis01@yahoo.com
Merry Christmas!