The H in HP must stand for Highlander because the TouchPad cannot freaking die! Even when HP cut off its oxygen, what happens? It becomes the second best-selling tablet in the world! Now HP says they have some updates planned.
Let’s not get too carried away here. First off, the article at Fast Company about the TouchPad reaching number two is somewhat speculative, as exact sales figures are hard to come by. Companies boast about how many they shipped, but tend to plead the fifth with it comes to how many they’ve actually sold. The article claims that the TouchPad will be the first non-Apple tablet to sell more than 500,000 units. It must be noted that 2nd place is miles away from first place. Apple has sold approximately 27.7 million iPads. While progress amongst the competition is definitely a good thing, it’s important to note that the only way HP managed to sell these things was by knocking it down to $98. While yes, of course, tablet-makers must find the sweet spot between price and features in order to compete with Apple’s gorilla, but getting rid of your inventory by selling it at an 80 per cent discount is not a practical business model. It’s just trying to minimise blood loss a little.
Elsewhere on the interwebs, an HP representative told CNET, “We expect that HP TouchPad owners can look forward to an over-the-air update that will enhance the platform and add functionality and a growing applications catalogue.” There were no details about exactly what this update would do, or when it would be, but still, it’s an update. This is great news for current TouchPad owners, of course, but it raises the question: if HP is going to keep updating the software for this thing, why the hell are they going to stop making them!? Oh, wait, maybe they won’t. Now an HP exec is claiming that they could potentially resurrect the TouchPad.
Say whaaaaat? I mean, the concept is exciting, but what’s the plan here? Nobody buys them for $500 or $400, then everybody buys them at $100. How about, sayyyyy $300? What do you guys think? People are paying $300 on eBay for TouchPads, wouldn’t you pay $300 for the TouchPad 2? [Fast Company and CNET via Ubergizmo]