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 love to have this computer in my Piano Room, where I teach piano lessons! It would have to be put somewhere high enough so the kids can’t get too close to it! Thanks!
I would put it in the kitchen. I am hoping for a new, smaller computer so I can make the back bedroom which houses it into my little girl’s room! She needs more space for her toys.
I want one! I think I would put it in my kitchen! I am sitting in my kitchen using my really old about to die laptop right now;-)
If I’m not mistaken, I made the comment that that was the biggest computer monitor I’d ever laid my eyes on! I was SO paying attention to details! And do you know what? My PC just died a couple weeks ago (hence the reason for having to go back and read your posts I missed!), so I could totally use this! :) Oh yeah, I would put it in my kitchen, under the cabinet over there that has a big gap – just itching to have a computer in it.
In my home office, of course!
I would put this computer in MY room where no little fingers except mine could touch it!
Judy M. from Catonsville
VERY EXCITING, INDEED!! WOW!! I HAD noticed that nice computer in the desk post. I’d LUV, LUV, LUV one for my kitchen/office area.
Thanks for the GREAT giveaway!!
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Although my computer desk is currently located WITHIN my pantry(!), this little pretty would probably be mounted somewhere front and center in my kitchen for all to admire :)
amy in texas
This beauty would be hidden away in my bedroom, the one place in our house that is off limits to Punks with grubby paws!
This computer would go nicely in my guest room!
This beauty would sit its fancy self right down in our office/schoolroom! What a treat that would be!
Wow…what an awesome giveaway!!
I thought I would throw my name in the hat -who knows!
If my name was chosen, I would put it on someone elses desk in someone elses house. Not sure who…the good Lord would show me that. Maybe I would pick a family off our Angel tree at Church.
It is always better to give than receive and what a blessing that would be for someone this holiday season!!
Thanks for the opportunity!!
I would put it in my kitchen, for me, only me!
Posted your giveaway on my blog too! http://lifewiththelittlers.blogspot.com/2009/12/boomamas-computer-giveaway.html
I would put it in my bedroom – i love the idea of a PC/TV combo!
I would put this on my desk in the living room and use the hell out of it!
i would put it on our computer desk in the kitchen. my son would love it!
My husband has decided to be a SAHD and is also trying to start his own PR business. This would be a great computer to help to start him on his way! He’d be using it where our little girl is at the time. :)
I would place this computer in my daughter’s dorm room come next fall! We will be sending our third child to college and would be blessed to win a computer for her!
21 year old son who has spent the last two years of his life dodging bullets while preaching the gospel…..in Spanish no less.
He’s coming home to go to school.
I would put the amazingness of an HP TouchSmart 600 into his very grateful hands.
Tammy and Parker
http://www.prayingforparker.com
hods 5 mom (at) aol (dot) com
How fun!!!! I would put the computer on the desk in our kitchen.
I’d put it up in my bedroom!
I would put it in our family room and replace our current desktop computer that is dying
Home base would be the office, but with all the features, I’m sure it would spend some time on a table in the living room, on the dining room table and maybe even possibly take a break at the island in the kitchen. ;D
I would put is in the school room because I would never get a chance to use it anyway since my kids would be hogging it.
I would IMMEDIATELY put it at our desk to replace the geriatric Dell that currently lives there. And we could design our own newsletters & print our own brochures that we pay someone else to do now! Oooo!!!
WOWZA. I would totally use that in our office, but would like it even more in the kitchen/dining room area. How cool!
I would put it in my office…on a newly painted desk!
I would totally put it on my desk in the hallway upstairs. And like you, I’d give my ancient MAC a sigh of relief! :)
I would kick out old computer to the curb and put this in the office!
Okay, so I don’t usually even bother entering any contest in which there are more than a dozen other entrants BUT! Look at that thing! And my peetiful, pathetic excuse for a “computer guy” that my husband keeps insisting we use has RUINED! RUINED I SAY! all of our computers! So…I would put mine upstairs in the office where the current desktop currently sits uselessly.
I would put it… well… EVERYWHERE I COULD! haha… I share a house with two roommates and it’s so lightweight looking, that I could use it in our living room when I want to be social or take it up to my room when I’m…well…not! haha
I tweeted, too. :)
MudderHeader Would u like to win an HP Touchsmart 600? Then go here: http://tinyurl.com/yjs27tc
You are so right- THIS IS A VERY EXCITING GIVEAWAY!!
I’m not sure my Mac-loyal husband will allow a PC to cross our doorstep, but should I win that will be HIS loss. :)
Oooooo! It would look lovely in the room where the currently dead computer is now resting.
I’d put the computer as far away from my one year old – where ever that might be. :)
I would put it somewhere that was convenient for my hubby so he didn’t need to steal my laptop. Wink!
Smiles!
I would love to win this! When we lived in NYC we had to switch to laptops because we didn’t have room for a desk to hold a desktop computer! Now we’re back in suburbia and my laptop is acting like it’s going to kick the bucket. I’d probably put this computer in our room because we live in a little apartment and our only extra room will soon be the baby’s room!
Awesome giveaway! I would put this in the family room. My family would die if I brought this home! LOL
http://twitter.com/superstahr01_SD/status/6505415637
Hmmm…I guess in our bedroom on my desk. Fun!!
Oh my goodness! I would totally put it next to me in bed!! I would give it a bottle and nurture it to death! Okay, maybe I would put it on my desk so I could just USE IT!! Wow! Hope I win! Dreaming of all the space I could save by moving the giant/old stuff that is already on my desk!
Good giveaway BooMama!
I would put it in my future craft room. Note: future. It does not exist yet. Well, it does exist, just in my head. The HP would help confirm all the other details.
Oh my! If I had one of those beauties I’d set it on the desk next to my couch, and sometimes move it to the coffee table for watching movies!!
I would put the computer in our living room… on a desk that we share… it would help me organize my life I think :-)
I would put it on Mama’s desk where no grimy hands can touch it. They can have this one if I win that one!
I’d put it in my room to keep my MacBook company. Because everyone knows that computers need friends, too.
I’d put it on our computer desk and put the laptop in it’s case! I love those computers!
I’d put it in the office. Can you believe DH thought a Playstation 3 would make a good replacement for a computer?! Let’s not get started.
Yes please!!
I suppose I would share it with my husband. Then, maybe he could sell off some of his old computer parts and I could update my craptop – err, laptop to one that is not coming apart at the hinges!!
I twittered! http://twitter.com/2ndstorywindow/status/6505532373
I would put it in your dining room to replace our broken Mac.
Tweety-tweet-tweet!
http://twitter.com/Aubie78/
Okay, we just bought a new desktop computer…but this one is way fancier than the one we got! I think if I won I’d have to donate it to a family or organization that really needed it…we have been so blessed and I’d really want to pay it forward! Good luck to me…
I would put it in my sewing room to replace the VERY SLOW computer I have now! Oh, how I could get so much done!!
Oh yeah, I so blogged about this too!
http://thehappysaver.blogspot.com/
Newbie to blogger land, but so excited to be here!
I am already having a dilemma about where to put it… Save it for myself on my little desk? (mine is lime green) or put it on the kitchen desk? Probably end up on the kitchen desk — I have found that I do love having a “command central” computer close to the kitchen when I drag my laptop in there, but am always afraid of the Cheez-Its that will end up in the inner workings of the computer….
I would put it on the other side of the office so my imac didn’t get a complex. I’d love to be able to let my kids play computer while I’m working!
I would put this on my “central command” desk just by our kitchen.
I would love to win this! Who would want a new computer! But I would give it either to my husband, or my mom! She really needs a new computer! Pick me! :)
I would put it in my basement…the only space for a computer in our little home.
Kitchen works best for me!
I tweeted about the giveaway too! SugarNSpicebaby
Ohh…definitely kitchen. I mean…it reads out loud to you!! Are you kidding me?! So cool!
I’d would put it in my “office,” which is actually a junk room/storage area and right now is crammed full of Christmas presents!
I would put this computer in our kitchen which has a built in desk. We love that about our kitchen because the kids have to be in the kitchen where they are constantly supervised to work on the computer. This would a much better look for our family!!
Oh, I would totally replace my poor ol’ PC that suffers from the same “unable to run more than two applications before beginning to wheeze.” It would be on my desk within no more than the 53 seconds you referenced.
Yes, ma’am, it would.
And I also totally told everyone on Twitter all about this giveaway. http://twitter.com/cbowers21
I would put this in my master bedroom also known as our office since our new little one has arrived. Our old desktop has passed on (rest its poor, over-worked soul) and momma needs a new one.
We have had the same computer for 10 years now, we could really use this especially with my husband trying to start his own business, it would be great to have for invoicing and record keeping, would look great in our office area of the house.
Yep. I tweeted: http://twitter.com/SarahSt/status/6505627049
I would love this computer!!!
Tweeted about it. Great giveaway BooMama!
http://twitter.com/PastormacsAnn/status/6505434178
You’d better believe I’d put this dandy in my bedroom and declare it completely HANDS-OFF!
I would put it in our living room because we would use it alot to enjoy netflix on demand! which, is what my husband wants for christmas!
Id put it.. how about in my moms office, and surprise her!
Mine would go in my kitchen (maybe in a secretary)!!! Love this amazing giveaway!
I would use it in our new apartment (who knows where!) My husband and I are moving to the Middle East for work and we are not really sure what our new place will look like!
I would put this in the kitchen…we have the perfect little nook for it and I am there most of the time anyway! Perfect for looking up recipes at the last minute (instead of running back and forth to the office every time I forget something, lol)!
Oooh…what a neat PC. (I hope my iMac forgives me for typing that!) I would put it in the living room because the whole TV/DVR thing would be SO handy in there!
I would give it to my kids. Their computer is up in the main hallway of our house (no computers in bedrooms here!) and it is totally on its last leg. So this one’s for you, kids. ;)
This would make me want to redo my desk too. So I am going with my desk in the spare room.
I love this computer. It is functional and totally beautiful! I would put it in my ‘office’, which is also the living room.
It would be in my kitchen. And it would replace the one that doesn’t really work:( It’s also the only one we have.
I’d hang the computer in my bedroom where I can use it away from the noise of the rest of the house!
I would completely put this computer somewhere NO ONE else can find it in my home – or possibly carry it around with me every day because I love it so much!! WOW.
I would totally attach this computer to myself if I could. Since I probably can’t (or shouldn’t), I’d settle on the living room!
My Mac, which I have mostly loved, is really starting to give me grief. The most heartbreaking of our recent problems was when my 4 year old daughter asked me to see some of her baby pictures. When I went to find them on the computer, I discovered they were gone… and the external hard drive they were backed up on… fried. 2 years of her life in pictures… gone!!! Strange things keep happening and I’m constantly living in worry that the entire computer is about to self destruct.
I think my love of Mac could be swayed. In fact based on your review, I think I would love the HP TouchSmart computer! Why don’t we just rush out and buy a new computer? Money talks you see, but on a teacher salary, sometimes it just whispers. Get it? Got it? Good.
It would replace the old beaten up and broken down HP desktop in the office. And it would look mighty fine doing it.
WOO HOO!
This baby would be sittin’ on my lap and I’d be bouncing it while it giggled back at me!
Thanks, BooMama!
I tweeted about this giveaway here
http://twitter.com/laughingmomma
I would put it in my best friend’s house because her laptop just broke on her she’s desperately needing a computer right now for school and her job hunt – and can’t afford one right now…
I would put the computer in our office. I currently have a computer that sounds a lot like the one you were using before you received your new HP. I would like to start a blog to keep up with family and friends and this would be a great incentive!
carrie.mew@gmail.com
My husband is moving across the state for a year to finish his Master’s and he is TAKING MY COMPUTER WITH HIM! Oh, how I need a replacement to sit in his office and make him jealous that he’s not there to use it. What a fantastic giveaway!
OMG what an amazing giveaway! :) We have a little built in desk (love a built-in) in our kitchen…and it would LOVE to live there. period. OMG. can’t even imagine.
http://hillhang-out.blogspot.com/2009/12/hp-giveaway.html
OK, I blogged about it, too. Because I really need it! Or maybe I just really want it. Either way, I’d love to have it!!
I would put it in my home office. Think how much more enjoyable accounting work would be if I had something fun like that to use while I was working!!
I also tweeted about this at http://twitter.com/krispt
I would love a new laptop and I would put it in my upstairs family room.
definitely on the wall above my desk:)
i would put it in our living room very proudly for everyone to see and ooh and awe over. i can’t even imagine what it would be like to have something like this…
Lets see… In my tiny two bedroom apartment…I would put it on my desk that I never use and feel guilty about it. But this will be good because then I can sit there and actually use the desk I spent money on! Yeah! Hope I win!!