HP has cut the price of its entry-level TouchPad tablet from $499 to $399. The news comes on the heels of a weekend promotion knocked $100 off the original price.
[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]Stephen DiFranco, HP senior vice president, said in a statement that HP was “pleased with customer response” from a $100 instant-savings promotion enough that it decided to implement the $100 price cut.
The HP TouchPad 16GB Wi-Fi model is now $399.99, while the 32GB TouchPad with Wi-Fi is now $499.99. That puts the device at a competitive price advantage over the iPad, which starts at $499 for a 16GB Wi-Fi configuration.
Whether HP can move TouchPads long-term is another issue, however. The device has been plagued by performance problems, but DiFranco notes the recent over-the-air (OTA) release of webOS 3.0 – the operating system that makes the TouchPad work – “is the first of what will be a steady stream of improvements” to TouchPad performance and capabilities.
The 2nd best tablet on the market.
…distant 2nd.
I think that in HP’s case it’s the right step to take.
John Gruber and others have said, that lowering the price of a device so new is usually a bad sign and I generally agree, but HP is trying to compete with the iPad.
They’re gunning for first place and I would guess that they have the expertise to produce the 1st gen. TouchPad with a safe profit margin.
This technique is called skimming and in this iPad-dominated tablet market, it’s one of the safest ways to gauge willingness to pay.
They know that the TouchPad isn’t as good as the iPad in certain respects, but this way they can find out how cheap a comparable tablet has to be to sway potential iPad buyers and what they have to improve to level with the iPad.
“this technique is called skimming”.
Actually the process is dumping.
Dumping the inventory on unsuspecting sucker consumers before canceling the product.
“this technique is called skimming”.
Actually the process is dumping.
Dumping the inventory on unsuspecting sucker consumers before canceling the product.
Ha! This one made me laugh.
I have no doubt in my mind that HP will replace the first TouchPad within the next six months. They’re learning and they’re learning quick.
This story makes me wonder how similarly HP’s tablet will fare at retail to the Galaxy Tab described in Seth Clifford’s anecdote about his visit to Staples (http://www.sethclifford.me/stream/2011/7/25/why-yes-that-is-a-galaxy-tab-101-in-my-pocket.html).
They’re lowering the price to clear out their inventory for the next release that won’t sell! lol! The plan these companies have to make money doesn’t make any sense! The TouchPad sucks compared to the iPad. I’ve used it. It isn’t even better than the Xoom & believe me, the Xoom sucks too. I haven’t seen 1 tablet that comes even close to the original iPad. Changing the price only makes the TouchPad look cheap, with it’s plastic build.
How can any of these companies really think they have a chance in the “iPad” market when the can’t even keep their product out long enough for a full revenue-cycle?? Apple release one, then releases another, then lowers the price of the original, while the new model has the original pricing. You can’t beat that if they’re increasing their market & profit share every single quarter. These companies don’t stand a chance. It’s the iPod era all over again.
Won’t make a damn bit of difference. We are past the point where anyone will make huge gains by being cheaper than a product that actually works as intended. Without the leverage of the carriers, unfinished, unsupported, no ecosystem hardware will not sell in significant quantities.
Have a bit doubt instead of living in a fantasy world.
.Recall HP has already replaced most of the upper management on the TouchPad..HP is having a fire sale to clear out inventory of the turd known as TouchPad.
I’ve loads of doubts, but I think HP might actually pull-off building a competitor to the iPad.
Not because they’re highly innovative on the consumer side of business —they had to buy the people and the IP— not even because they’re a brand that everybody and their sister know, but because they have the funds and the experience.
HP is one of the few companies that has a supply chain as tightly controlled as Apple’s, which will make it easier for them to get components/labour on the cheap and reduce the time-to-market with every iteration of a device.
While I agree that HP is selling-off the first gen. of the device because they might have a successor at the ready, I stand by the argument I made in the first post.