In the beginning, there was nothing -- which exploded - Terry Pratchett
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HP lowers Touchpad price in US to undercut the Ipad 2
FLOGGER OF EXPENSIVE PRINTER INK HP has slashed the price of its Touchpad in the US as it tries to compete against Apple's Ipad 2.
HP launched its first WebOS tablet a month ago amid much fanfare and while the hardware specifications are comparable, the firm initially priced the Touchpad to match Apple's Ipad 2. While the reviews of the Touchpad were good, the problem for all tablets competing against Apple's device is that not only do they have to be at least as good as the Ipad, they need to be less expensive too, which is something that HP apparently has now realised.
Over in the US, HP has dropped the price of a 16GB Touchpad to $450 with the 32GB version costing $550, which is $50 less than its Apple counterpart. There have been whisperings that sales of the Touchpad have been low and while a price cut is always welcome, one wonders whether a 10 per cent price difference will be enough to entice punters away from the Ipad 2.
At the moment UK retailers are still sticking to the £399 price tag for the 16GB Touchpad, while a retailer going through Amazon is offering a 32GB Touchpad for £422, though most other places price the 32GB unit up around £480.
When The INQUIRER played around with the Touchpad last month we liked its performance but baulked at its relatively meagre application catalogue and physical characteristics. However, users are reporting improvements to WebOS since HP released an over-the-air update on 1 August.
HP might want to consider bundling in a Pre 3 in the future if it wants to have a hope of taking a bite out of Apple's considerable tablet market share. Otherwise there might be a chance that the Touchpad, despite its capabilities, will end up forgotten. µ
Tags: Hardware
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Even if they give it for free, it's a useless piece of hardware. No apps, not interested. Just another unsuccessful Apple clone.
Nokia is next with it's Tabco junk....
The lack of apps is the factor that minimizes the potential of their device. And, to lack apps at $499 or even $599 is too much to take. Anyone buying a tablet knows this is the killing factor.
The Blackberry tablet is a product that has demonstrated that if you don't have apps you don't have a market for your device. Selling a desktop computer without apps is not going to make for good sales numbers. Blackberry is learning this and thus have been working to get android apps running on their device.
If HP essentially takes a fraction of the profit, maybe even a little loss, and considers the OS as a big 0 (zero) in the equation, then they'll begin to make sales. Cut that price down to $199 to $250 and you might get takers. $150 would almost guarantee sales.
But to sell a device for $499 without any real potential for apps is suicide for it.
The Touchpad should be forgotten. There is nothing about it which stands out and makes it worth $499, much less $599. The lack of apps is the biggest problem. I realized this when I realized that Digitech now has a Pedalboard which links with the iPad and comparable application. That's something that would give the iPad an actual use for me beyond content consumption. That's innovation. And the Pre 3 is a joke with a similar form factor to the Pre, Pre + and Pre 2, all of which should've had the bigger screen and Flash. You can't sell similar hardware to Apple for the same price or slightly less with little to no apps and expect anyone to buy it. HP lost this one and it will only get worse in the fall when ICS comes around.
Web OS has always been a good operating system, hell even win 7 mobile is good also.....but both missed the boat and the mobile market is dominated by Android and iOS, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.