Drum roll please....

After much consideration, I've finally decided that the winner of the super fantastic HP HDX Dragon laptop system is:

From Ryan 'shipwreck' Shupe:

The reason why I picked Ryan's entry is because he was creative and unique. He used what he had available to him and he came up with a fun slogan. Congrats Ryan!!!

I hope everyone that entered had fun even if they didn't get chosen. I also hope that those of you that didn't enter also had a good time looking at all the entries. I know I sure did!

Many thanks to all of you and mega thanks to HP and Buzzcorps who came up with this idea and picked The Gadgeteer to participate!

Ok, guys, we're almost done. Here are your final 3 images that are up for the prize of the HP HDX Dragon laptop package valued at over $5000...

I really like this idea because it's completely different and eye catching. Anyone that noticed a leg attached to that bicycle was sure to do a double take and hopefully, they saw the URL and remembered it :o)

I had to pick this one just for the fact that it was the most over the top entry submitted. Up, up and away!

I loved this picture from the moment I saw it. I like that the person that came up with the idea got his friends to help him out. It's creative, fun and hopefully a bunch of people from that school ended up checking out the site afterwards.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegadgeteer/sets/72157605075780440/

The winner will be announced within the next hour...

We're coming into the home stretch here folks. Here are the final 6 images that are up for the HP HDX Dragon laptop package:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegadgeteer/sets/72157605078305577/

I've narrowed down the HP HDX Dragon contest entries down to my favorite 12...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegadgeteer/sets/72157605076681687/

I want to say again how difficult it is to pick 1 winner out of 371 entries. I'm getting emails from people asking me to explain to them why I didn't pick their entries. I'm sorry, but I'm not going to answer these emails because no matter what I tell them they still won't be happy that they didn't get picked.

Whew! I've spent an hour looking at all the HP HDX Dragon contest entries and have done a first pass at narrowing them down to the ones that really stick out for me. So, from 371 to 25 in no particular order:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegadgeteer/sets/72157605071507432/

I'll do another pass in a bit...

I've been posting all your contest entries to the flickr set like a crazy woman tonight. We're up to 300 entries folks! I'm completely blown away by that fact! Great job to everyone so far... If you haven't gotten your entry in yet, you still have 3hrs till the the contest closes (12AM EST). Picking a winner tomorrow is going to be very hard to do!

There are several more sites to go check out with contest to enter! Don't delay, go now...

Windows Connected.com - They are asking you to promote their site in any way that you can conceive.
Geeks to go.com - Print out their logo and take a creative video or picture of it.
Bink.nu - They ask you to suggest a product manager at Microsoft for them to interview.

Wow, I'm so surprised by how many entries we've had so far for my 31 Days of the Dragon contest to win the HP HDX laptop package. We're up to 86 entries at the time I'm writing this. I'm having a lot of fun seeing each new entry. Please keep get your entries in by 12am EST 5/15/08...

Other contests that have recently started include ones at the following sites...

TheDigitalLifeStyle.com - You have to hunt around in their forums to find the details.
Digital Home Thoughts - Their contest has you leaving a comment on their YouTube unboxing video.
Windows-Now.com - Their contest starts today, but so far they do not have the details posted. Be sure to check back.

I've decided to create a set on my Flickr account to post the contest entries. You can see them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thegadgeteer/sets/72157604952613117/.

For almost a week now, you've been reading about the 31 Days of the Dragon contest being sponsored by the great people at HP and BuzzCorps. Thirty-one different mobile news, reviews and info web sites are launching their own individual seven day contests one a day starting on May 2nd. Today it's finally The Gadgeteer's turn and I'm very excited to share the details of the contest...

How do you win?

All you have to do is display The Gadgeteer's URL (use the-gadgeteer.com) in a public place where other people can see it, take a picture and email it to me. The whole idea is to help me advertise the site. Entries that are visible to lots of people, will have a much better chance at winning the prize. Some example ideas would be to print out the-gadgeteer.com on a 10 ft long piece of paper and tape it on the outside of a building, form the letters the-gadgeteer.com in whip cream on a sidewalk, or maybe climb up the Statue of Liberty and ...

Ok, I know you're not going to be able to get that crazy with this, but please do use your imagination!!! The picture has to be real, not fabricated and the crazier the display, the better chance you will have at winning the prize pack.

Here are a couple of very simple rules that I ask you to follow:

1. Don't destroy or harm public or private property unless you have permission
2. No photoshop fake pics like the one I just posted above as an example. The image you send me can't be an existing picture where you have used photoshop to paste the words the-gadgeteer.com over the top of it
3. The picture has to be in good taste please. No public restrooms pics, etc.
4. Email me (julie@the-gadgeteer.com) your picture before 12am EST on 5/15/08
5. Winner has to be willing to send me a picture of themselves with all the prizes, that I'll post here on the site
6. Enter as many times as you like
7. Contest open to any one living anywhere in the world

All entries will be posted for everyone to see on my Flickr account. The winner will be chosen by me by no specific criteria other than it will be the entry that I like best. I will contact and post the winner at some point during the day on 5/15/08.

What's included in the prize pack?

HP HDX Dragon Notebook (Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor X9000 (2.80GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
4GB DDR2 System Memory (2 Dimm)
500GB 5400RPM SATA Dual Hard Drive (250GB x 2)
20.1" diagonal WUXGA High-Definition HP Ultra Brightview Widescreen (1920x1200) 1080p
512MB NVIDIA GeForce 8800M GTS
Blu-Ray ROM with SuperMulti DVD+/-R/RW Double Layer
Integrated HP HDTV Hybrid TV Tuner and 4 Altec Lansing speakers with HP Triple Bass Reflex subwoofer
HP Imprint Finish (Dragon) + Fingerprint Reader + Webcam + Microphone, Intel PRO/Wireless 4965AGN Network Connection and Bluetooth
Cell Lithium Ion Battery.

Software:
Microsoft Windows Vista Ultimate (64-bit)
Microsoft Office
Corel PaintShop Pro X2
Corel Painter Essentials
Corel Ulead Video Studio Plus 11.5
Symantec Norton Internet Security
Viva Piñata
Microsoft Flight Sim
Microsoft Flight Sim Expansion Pack
Gears of War

Blu-Ray Movies:
Pirates of the Caribbean - The Curse of the Black Pearl
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean - At World's End.

The total retail value of this prize pack is over $5,000!

This contest is sponsored by HP and BuzzCorps.