HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web: First Web-Connected Printer Ever

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Internet, PC / Laptop, Peripherals

HP just unveiled their HP PhotoSmart Premium with TouchSmart Web home printer. While that is a mouthful to say, we know, it actually turns out to be pretty cool technology for those of us who do still rely on a printer. The easiest way to describe it is, imagine if your printer had an iPhone-like control panel that was connected to the Internet, and controlled both the printer and could control and pull up web data for printing. That is what HP has put together here. Through the magic of HP Applications, you’ll be able to use the 4.33-inch control pad to pull up maps with directions, coupons, movie tickets, newspaper articles, are more. Even better, the apps are smart enough to know how best to print each piece of content, so all will usually look decent. If you have a Snapfish account, the printer can connect directly to that, and print photos…I know, thrilling. Luckily, the apps will be something that just about anyone can make, so the current limits that seem to be apparent as it pertains to which services you can use with this printer may actually fall to the wayside. The only barrier to companies spending time on making apps for this printer, though, are going to be in the numbers. The reason the Apple App Store has over 50,000 apps is because there are millions of iPhone and iPod touch units out there. We aren’t so sure that people will be rushing to buy the HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web when it hits stores this fall, what with its $399 price tag, but hey, we are all for innovation, and HP has at least tried to do that with this product.

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Gallery: HP Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web: First Web-Connected Printer Ever

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HP Magic Giveaway: We have a winner - and a second contest!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Features, HDTV, Home Entertainment, PC / Laptop

Our HP Magic Giveaway came to a conclusion last night, and, wow, we are calling this one a success, as we just got inundated with entries. We first need to thank everyone involved for entering and spreading the word on Twitter, Facebook, and the like. Of course, there can only be one - but if you feel a swerve coming, read on!

First, the winner was chosen randomly out of all valid entries. The person who came out on top of Ashe, with this comment. I’ve contacted him, he replied, and things are good.

Now, about that swerve. In the original contest, we mentioned that it would be awesome if the winner were to give some of those winnings away. After all, it’s the holiday season, and who really needs 3 notebooks, a desktop, and all that stuff? So, the cool thing here is that Ashe has decided to throw some items back into the pot, and he wants us to do a second giveaway! We will get it set up today, and will run it for another week. The winner will get the following:

• HP Mini 1000 (Windows XP)
• Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 with 3 licenses
• Microsoft WIndows Live
• Corel VideoStudio X
• Kung-Fu Panda on Blu-ray disc, and DVD

That is not too shabby of a prize package right there. Wanna win it? Just head on over to our Gear Live Magic Giveaway page to enter.

Again, thanks to all entrants, and a big thank you to Ashe for giving back.

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HP Magic Giveaway: Enter our contest to win over $6,000 in electronics!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Accessories, Announcements, Features, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, PC / Laptop

So, a few days ago we told you about our HP Magic Giveaway, and how we’d be giving away an absolutely ridiculous amount of prizes to the winner. Now, we are announcing the the contest has officially started, and we’ve got the details on how you can enter to win. First, though, a refresher on what we are giving away:

• HP TouchSmart IQ816
• HP HDX18 Premium Notebook PC
• HP Pavilion dv4 Entertainment Notebook PC
• HP Mini 1000 (Windows XP)
• HP MediaSmart Connect
• HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless All-in-One printer
• HP 564 Photo Value Pack
• Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 with 3 licenses
• Microsoft WIndows Live
• Corel VideoStudio X
• Kung-Fu Panda on Blu-ray disc, and two DVDs

Yes, you do see four computers listed, as well as a Media Center Extender. No, you aren’t dreaming. Yes, we (and HP) are awesome. You want the goods? Here’s how to enter to win - we are making this super-simple:

1. If you don’t have one already, sign up for a Gear Live account
2. If you don’t have one already, sign up for a Twitter account
3. Add the Gear Live Twitter account to your follow list
4. On Twitter, post a tweet about our contest and link to this page. In the tweet, include the phrase “#glmagic”.
5. Once that is done, leave a comment here in this post with a direct link back to your Tweet. Be sure you are signed in to your Gear Live account before you leave the comment.

Here’s an example of an appropriate Twitter entry:
“Entering to win a ton of HP gear! http://jk9.qlnk.net/ #glmagic”

BONUS ENTRIES: Want more chances to win? Share the link to our contests on the following sites, and leave us a comment linking to those as well:

• Facebook: Shared Link
• Del.icio.us bookmark
• FriendFeed: Use Post a Link
• Your blog: Have a site? Link to our contest on it!

Remember: The bonus entries are just that - bonus. In order to be eligible to win, you must complete the core Twitter requirements.

Now, as to the actual contest dates. The contest starts today, November 28th. You have until 11:59 PM PST on December 4 to enter your comments here on this post. We will then announce our winner, chosen randomly out of all valid entrants and bonus points, on December 5th. We are also going to encourage (but not require) you to think about donating a portion of the prize package to someone else. It can be a charity, a relative, friend, a fellow contest entrant - anyone. We can even handle the shipping to that third party for you. It’s all in the spirit of giving, and we will let you play Secret Santa, if you so choose.

The contest is open to anyone in the world, which is a rarity. If you are in the US, you’ll even have your tax burden taken care of. What more could you ask for? Now, good luck to all - comments are open!

Update: We’ve announced a winner - and a new contest!

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The HP Magic Giveaway: We’re giving away a bunch of stuff

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Announcements, Home Entertainment, Hot Deals, PC / Laptop, Peripherals

UPDATE: ENTER OUR HP MAGIC GIVEAWAY CONTEST!

Listen, it’s the holiday season, the economy is going to hell, prices are going up on everything but gas, and you know that no one is going to get you any super-fancy consumer electronics this year. Or, so you thought. You see, once again we are partnering with HP (along with 49 other sites) to bring you a mind-blowing prize package. That means that you get 50 chances to win the following:

• HP TouchSmart IQ816
• HP HDX18 Premium Notebook PC
• HP Pavilion dv4 Entertainment Notebook PC
• HP Mini 1000 (Windows XP)
• HP MediaSmart Connect

Oh, what was that? That isn’t enough? Well, our bad, we though that five computers being given away would be enough. But hey, you pulled our arm, so I guess we’ll also throw in the following:

• HP Photosmart C6380 Wireless All-in-One printer
• HP 564 Photo Value Pack
• Microsoft Office Home and Student Edition 2007 with 3 licenses
• Microsoft WIndows Live
• Corel VideoStudio X
• Kung-Fu Panda on Blu-ray disc, and two DVDs

There, now are you happy? We figured as much. Go back and look over that list again - that’s a lot of stuff. In fact, the value of all that is over $6,000 USD. There’s enough there that you could win it all, and give away some of it as gifts to your family or friends - that what the holidays are all about, right? That whole better to give than to receive thing?

We’ll be announcing the contest rules soon, but in the meantime, check out the HP Magic Giveaway page for more information on the prizes, and other participating sites.

Oh, and let us know what you think of this contest in the comments!

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Unboxing Live 040: HP TouchSmart PC second gen

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, PC, Peripherals, Videocasts

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We were able to get our hands on one of the new HP TouchSmart computers recently, and were very impressed by what we saw - especially when compared to the original TouchSmart that we saw back at CES 2007. We unbox the new TouchSmart in this episode, showing off the new, sleek form factor, along with all the new wireless accessories that HP has designed to compliment the experience.

What we love most about it, aside from the cool touch screen implementation, is the fact that it is a full featured, powerful computer. Typically, all-in-one computers like these have been underpowered. Not so with the TouchSmart, which is chock-full of RAM (4GB), hard drive space (500 GB), 2.16 GHz Core 2 Duo processor, 256 MB NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS HD graphics card, and Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit edition. It even has an integrated ATSC & NTSC TV tuner with PVR and remote.

Check out the video for the full scoop on the new HP TouchSmart.

If you want to pick up one of your own, take a look at the HP TouchSmart premium version, or the standard HP TouchSmart computer.

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Bleeding Edge TV 271: Hands-on with the new HP TouchSmart PC

Posted by Nate True Categories: Gizmatic, Announcements, Household, Internet, PC / Laptop, Videocasts, Videos

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At HP‘s Connecting Your World event in Berlin, Germany, we talked with John Cook, VP of marketing for HP’s Consumer PC group. He gave us a hands-on first look at the beautiful new HP TouchSmart PC.

One thing we really liked about the new TouchSmart is its completely redone interface.  The software looks clean, polished, useful, and eminently easy to use.  It would be great, however, if the TouchSmart made more use of multi-touch.  Cook demonstrates a pinch gesture in the software but that’s pretty much it.  We’re keeping our eyes peeled for more multi-touch functionality in upcoming software updates and releases.

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HP TouchSmart PC gets refreshed, unboxed

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Galleries, Home Entertainment, PC

HP just announced their newly updated TouchSmart PC. We were able to get our hands on one a little early, and figured we’d do our obligatory unboxing gallery. When we first saw the original back at CES 2007, we thought it was a huge, clunky computer. This new design actually seems to almost one-up Apple in a way. After all, the computer has a similar profile to an iMac, and is touch sensitive - you know, hence the whole TouchSmart name.

The model we got also features a wireless keyboard and mouse, both of which operate over RF technology rather than Bluetooth, which means sync issues should be non-existent. Oh, don’t get us wrong, this computer does include Bluetooth, as well as a host of other technologies. It’s packed to the brim with the latest technology too. While we’re on the subject, might as well list it all out, right?

Well, we’ve got an Intel Core 2 Duo T5850 processor, 4GB RAM, 500GB hard drive, SuperMulti DVD burner, 802.11b/g/n support, NVIDIA GeForce 9300M GS HD graphics card, and ships with Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition.

Hit up out HP TouchSmart PC unboxing gallery for the full goods.

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Gallery: HP TouchSmart PC gets refreshed, unboxed

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