HP Resurrects TouchPad Tablet to Pacify Rabid Customers

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Wired.com

By Mike Isaac
August 30, 2011 | 3:22 pm

And on the 61st day, the TouchPad rose again.

HP has plans to produce another round of its TouchPad tablets before the year is out, despite its earlier decision to discontinue its mobile hardware products.

“Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand,” HP spokesman Mark Budgell wrote in a company blog post. “As we know more about how, when, and where TouchPads will be available, we will communicate that here and through e-mail to those who requested notification.”
....

The blog post signals further confusion from a company in upheaval. Two weeks ago, HP announced suddenly it would end production on all of its mobile hardware, including the soon to be released Pre 3 and Veer smartphones. The decision also included the company’s iPad competitor, the TouchPad, killed off a mere 49 days after its debut in July. Circulating rumors suggested third-party retailers were sitting on hundreds of thousands of unsold stock.

Read more: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/08/hp-touchpad-return/

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I wish I had known about the huge blowout, but I was away from my computer when HP announced the dramatic price cut. Had I known, I would have bought one each of the 16GB and 32 GB TouchPad. As much as I hate Best Buy, I would have gone there to buy these.

I wonder how this final batch will be priced.

Disclaimer: I own shares of HPQ. I have doubts about how well the company is being run.

Also at DU: Did any of you get in on the Touchpad frenzy?

Edited, in anticipation of responses: I don't care about the lack of apps. meegbear's uses are pretty much what mine would be. All I want is to go down to the library and use the library's free wi-fi to go online. Reading ebooks, or using the email function - they would be good too. I figure that I can learn to write apps if I need them that much.

I own several Macintosh computers, so I am not "anti-Mac." I fear, however, that Apple is turning into the Big Brother that the "1984" commercial warned us against. It is too eager to sue competitors for my taste. I'd like to see how good those Samsung tablets are. Bring 'em on.

[meegbear]

1. I bought one on eBay and got it yesterday ...

32GB - very pleased with it. Just want web / email / Kindle and it's there. And their Facebook app is the bee's knees.

[Courtesy Flush]

2. Hope that guarantees I get the one I ordered.

They're moving slow filling orders from last week's frenzy.

[provis99]

3. the economy is flying to shit, we're all losing our homes,

our jobs are being shipped to India, but thank god I can get a TouchPad!

Bread and Circuses...

[TheWraith]

5. Threadcrapping and cynicism!

It's all in a day at DU.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

6. Think of a TouchPad as you would "gay marriage."

Nobody's going to make you have one.

[TheWraith]

4. "I own shares of HPQ. I have doubts about how well the company is being run." You SHOULD.

Also, if I were you, I wouldn't own shares of HPQ. Mind you, this is from somebody who bought one of those blowout Touchpads. HP is stupid to abandon the hardware market.

[SoapBox]

7. Ditto...

...we have tons of HP equipment...we've always liked a lot of their printers, which we need
to run high quality, camera-ready artwork.

Makes you wonder what twenty-something executive made the first decision.

My response to those that made the first idiot move...YOU ARE FIRED!!!

[SoapBox]

8. p.s....and what's this mean?

"Circulating rumors suggested third-party retailers were sitting on hundreds of thousands of unsold stock."

As in sitting on the stock on purpose? Why exactly? To hurt HP? Or????

Thoughts?

[TheWraith]

13. Sitting on it, as in they had it there unsold when HP dropped the product line.

And they had plenty of reason to be pissed, since these weren't selling like hotcakes BEFORE HP announced they were being orphaned. Hence the fire sale.

[TheWraith]

12. I know how it happened. Their newer products aren't successful, and hardware is low margin anyway.

Here's the problem with that. One, hardware may be low margin, but it's reliable and profitable.

Two, the newer HP products like their smartphones, the Touchpad, etcetera aren't unsuccessful because the market for hardware is bad. They're unsuccessful because they're not very good. Compare an HP smartphone or tablet to one from Samsung or Apple, an HP gets kicked all over the playground. That's been the case going back before they bought Palm, to their own iPaqs... really any mobile tech out of HP since they stopped doing business with HTC, for HTC to design their stuff. Since then, all their mobile tech has either sucked, or been poorly supported, or both.

[MilesColtrane]

9. Are chimps running that company?

Or is it just some guy flipping a coin?

[liberal N proud]

10. delete

[ikri]

11. Funny thing

Apparently if you market your product and find an appropriate price point you can actually sell your product. Who knew?

Instead of trying to sell the Touchpad at the same price as an iPad, they found a price point where a number of people who couldn't justify the iPad's price could justify the Touchpad's price. The $99 price was probably too low, there are plenty of Touchpads on ebay selling for around $200, and they're selling pretty well. If HP can find a way to produce Touchpads for $199 they'll probably find a massive market.

It's a lesson that all tablet computer manufacturers that aren't Apple should probably learn.

[TheWraith]

14. Problem is, tear-downs indicate that the parts alone on a Touchpad cost $300.

Not including the labor to assemble.

[7wo7rees]

15. I like where you're going with that.

Anybody think this could have been a marketing experiment?

Baseline: It's too expensive. It's not Apple. It has no apps.
Paradigm shift: No longer in that business. Huge exposure to market for blowout pricing. Sellout with waiting list.
Result: Genuine interest in product. Ability to improve price point to feed the masses. More free advertising.

Only in America can markets be this manipulated. We are truly the most sophisticated consumers on the planet. ;)

[ikri]

16. Not that cynical

I think they are truly trying to get out of the tablet and smart phone market (there's rumours of a sub $99 Pre 3) and just fell into the assumption trap that no one wanted a non-Apple tablet. The truth is that plenty of people wouldn't mind one but can't justify the expense or would prefer an Android tablet (plenty of people are already talking about ways to get Android on their Touchpads).

The truth is that most of the major tablets that aren't iPads are still far too expensive to gain market traction. HP fluked their Touchpad sell-off, they've lost a ton of money on it but it may lead to a few people taking notice of the price points at which not-an-iPad-but-an-adequate-replacement tablets can be sold.

[Skink]

17. I bought this when I couldn't find a tablet in stores.

about a year ago. www.pandigital.net I love it. They found a resonable price point for what they have and are doing OK.

recently I thought I might have to get a new CPU so I went around looking for one and now you can barely find CPUS.