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 would gladly put it in my living room for everyone to see. :) Thanks for the chance to win this great computer!
I would put it in our living room. For everyone to use it. I would try to be nice and share :)
(but first I would put it in my office for a few days. Just so I can try it out, lol)
I believe I would place it it my balcony home!! (Long story that will probably never be told!) lol
I would probably put it in the living room. Merry Christmas!
I would try to put it in the family room. Don’t know if I’d get permission, but I think I could swing it.
i would put it downstairs in the den next to my hubby’s computer!
I would LOVE this computer. I think I would love to hang it on a wall in the kitchen…. the family hub.
Hi! This seems like a wonderful machine!! I would love to have it in our playroom to share with my hubby and girls! Thanks.
I’d hide it in my room! I might even share once in a while!
I would love this computer for my kitchen – what a wonderful giveaway!
Definitely on my desk that belonged to my grandmother in our bedroom!
Well, I want to be totally selfish and place the computer in my downstairs office, but I know that I would love to let the whole family use it. So, the Touchsmart will live in the diningroom. Our old dino computer from 2002 will be retired. The list of what it doesn’t do is rapidly longer than what it actually does do. Sad.
Knowing me and how much I use my computer…I would probably put the computer in my living room and buy a new computer desk for it! ;)
I would love to win this for my husband who is starting back to school in January. It would fit perfectly in our home office and be a huge help! Thanks so much :)
Melody
This would inspire me to actually clean and use my office (and thrift and paint a cute desk), I’d put it there.
In the office!
I’d put it in the office, off-limits to my 2.5 year old!
Hi! This is a great giveaway! If I won it, it would go on my desk in the living room.
I would soooo put this on one of the walls in my photography studio. Perhaps the gallery room…. mounted right on the wall for clients to view their images… now that sounds nice!
Merry Christmas!
I want to win!!! I would put this in the family room :) So the family would have access!
I will put it anywhere the 70 fingers that live in our house can reach it. That’s 60 less fingers on my laptop (our only computer). Great prize!
I tweeted the giveaway!
http://www.twitter.com/lifeofmegan
one more entry for the computer! GREAT giveaway :) https://www.boomama.net/hp-touchsmart-600-giveaway/ 1 minute ago from web
I blogged the giveaway! :)
http://www.inthiswonderfullife.com/2009/12/our-cozy-christmas-time-lots-of-pics-w.html
What a amazing giveaway i would love to have a new computer.
Lisa Brown
I would put it in my family room for the entire family to enjoy! Thanks!
I would LOVE this computer. We would put it in our family room to replace our crappy one and the entire family would benefit from it. My kids would love to get their hands on this, litarally! And, so would I!
What could I do with a new computer? Get my kiddos to stop fighting over which cartoon to watch online on Netflix!
I would put it in our office as our current computer is dying a slow and sad death in there all by herself…poor thing.
I would put it in my guest room/office and replace my own wheezy computer.
I read cookbooks like novels…strange, maybe, but I love to cook and read so it all goes together. I would love someone (or in this case something) to read recipes aloud to me, ahhhh sweet music.
In the living room so I can take out the one that doesn’t work. Thanks!
I would put this in our office! Such a fun giveaway. Thanks!
This would defiinetly be going in the bedroom!
I would put it in my office and it would be a much needed upgrade!
I would put it on my make shift desk in my small bedroom.
I would put it in the dining room, because I’m using my dining room as my office to discourage any attempts at cooking. :)
My office, which doesn’t exactly exist…yet.
Would love to win this! My laptop is falling apart.
Oh goodness, a touch screen computer would be awesome as my dinosaur of a computer is sooooo close to dying any day now. It hangs up all the time, takes forever to get to the sites, and I use it for my business, also, doing theory classes on it for my piano students. I am a piano teacher, and teach in my dining room which is my piano room–so that’s where I would put it. Would love to win this!
How awesome would that be???? Great giveaway!
I would put this super cool computer in the family room.
I’d put this in my new laundry room. We just re-did it and it would be so nice!
Hi, I would love to win this computer. I would put it in my craft room, where only I am allowed.
I would love one of these and would put it in my dining room/office.
I would love to win this computer. My son just joined the military and does not have a computer to take with him. We will miss him so much but it would be a little easier if he had a computer. My email is kidz-place@sbcglobal.net and my name is Teresa
I would put it in our master bedroom, away from three pairs of little fingers that would love to get their fingers on it :)
I would put it at my kitchen desk
I think this would go on the bar in our kitchen and would be well loved by the 8 and 11 year old in our house!
I think I would put it in my office, but I’ll have to paint my desk first!
This bad boy would go in my bedroom, behind LOCKED doors!
:)
Thanks for the chance!!
I think it’d have to hang on a wall in our bedroom…
Amazing giveaway!
this puppy would go in the living room to be enjoyed by all (at my discretion, of course.)
Thanks!
I would put it in my daughter’s room where her little brothers would probably STILL go in and Touch it!
I would love to give this to my Mom so we can keep in touch via video chat. She doesn’t have a computer yet (and has never used one) and I love how easy this fab computer would be. Loves it.
Thanks for the chance to win! I’d put this sweet thing in my kitchen annex. It’s the no-name room or the room of many names… we have yet to figure it out! I’ve set up a baking area in there and I could look up recipes all day long! Yippee!!
I would strap this thing to my waist and never let anyone else near me!
Okay, no, it would go in our newly emptied out storage room turned homeschool room. But do I havvvvve to let the kids play tooooo?
twittered it here: http://twitter.com/Leighbra/status/6994542858
Wow, this is a lot of comments!!!
If I won, I’d put the computer in the office. We could sure use it!!!
My family would LOVE a new computer! Hoping we win!!
My dorm room! This would be so great for school :)
Well, it would be a fine Christmas surprise if I won!
I would put this very cool computer on the desk in my kitchen – that way I can see what the kids are doing or have a TV show on it while I’m cooking.
I would love to win this for my daughter, because she needs one for school and I am a disabled carpenter with no benefits or income, so we can’t afford presents this year. Thank you.
Definately in the family room. Would love a new computer!
It’s so beautiful it could go anywhere! But I would put on our desk in the family room…and share it! thank you so much!
I would put it in the kitchen. Thanks for the chance!
I’m praying every time I boot ours up – I’d love a new pc for our family room!
I would put the computer in our office – we could certainly use all of those features!!
This would be great. Happy Holidays,
Jennifer
It would go in the office. Merry Christmas!!
I would put the HP Touch Smart 600 in our office/entertainment room. That way the entire family could enjoy it! I’ve been fascinated by this computer since I first laid eyes on it & woudl LOVE to own one!
Thanks for offering the giveaway! What a Christmas present this would be for our family!
This computer would be in my kitchen dining area where we could use it for recipes and keeping in touch with friends and family, keeping up on blogs while working in the kitchen!
Merry Christmas, and may this new year bring you every good thing!
Please, Santa…send me the HP Touchsmart! I would put it at my desk!!
I would put it in our office and replace our obsolete computer we are using now! Merry Christmas!
I would put it on desk, which is in the dining room!
I’d put it in my needs-a-New-Year-redo office…and it would be the star of the show!
I would love a new computer. This one sounds fantastic! Thanks.
I would most definitely put this computer in my boy’s room. My boys both have severe autism and this computer would open a whole new world to them!
I am a techie…actually that is my official job. My wife has been harping on my for a while to get a computer put in the kitchen for her recipes so the last few lines of your review were a huge bonus for this computer. (Of course it may have to be “under review” in my office for a while.)
I would put this in our “office” which used to be the dining room. Thanks!
Annette in Ohio
I would put it in the craft room!
I would love that computer! I will put it in the family room
I would put it in our family room! Thanks so much.
I would put it on my desk off the kitchen.
This would go straight into the kitchen for my cooking and stuff
I think I would put it in the kitchen. It’s so thin and stylish and wouldn’t take up much room at all! Searching for and trying new recipes would be even more fun on an HP TouchSmart 600!
I love this giveaway! I would put this in either my office or kitchen. It would be great for my kitchen while I work and cook but great for my office to keep the kids away.
I’d put it on my scrapbook table, the closest thing I have to a desk at home, so maybe I wouldn’t have to fight the Two Redheads at my house (daughter and husband) for computer time!
I would give it to my hubby for his office–his computer is on it’s last breath–it’s beyond wheezing!!
I tweeted:
http://twitter.com/LivingOneMoment/status/6999358631
I blogged:
http://nkgebodman.blogspot.com/2009/12/last-minute-giveaway-worth-time-to.html
i would love, love, love this computer for our kitchen! :)
It will go on the dining room table. Just can’t seem to make the computer go to time out. Thanks!
I would put this in the room where it would be the safest and get the most use, the room we use as an office. thanks for hosting this Sophie.
Mary Lou
dlowran1(at)comcast(dot)net
In the guestroom/office/Hulu viewing chamber with BooMama’s banner on the desktop complimenting the room’s loverly yellow walls. Thanks and Yippee!
I would put this right in the kitchen. My office is upstairs but I realized lately I like to do things in my kitchen more. I would love to have this here so the kids could do activities on it as well in plain view so I know wheat they are doing!
I would put this computer in my living room for the time being bc we are trying to move and dont have room anywhere else lol!! But the closet might be a good idea too =)
I would put it on my desk in the kitchen. Thanks for the chance to win!
My son has PDD,this would be great for him and us
it would be perfect for my husband – i have taken his computer over!