HP can sell a ton of these at $295.00. It is the way to get into the game with an inferior product. Once they're in they can continue to fix the problems and then raise the prices.
If HP could create an application store and earn $20 per business application they might make up for the initial low selling price.
HP had the iPad in mind the whole time, that much is fairly obvious. If it weren't for the iPad, HP would never have released or even thought of making their Touchpad in the first place. The same goes for every other tablet maker that is not Apple. They're all trying to grab a tiny piece of the tablet pie. Most have only gotten a few pathetic crumbs so far.
When the iPad 2 was announced, after Steve Jobs showed off the shocking new design of the iPad 2, the people at Samsung basically freaked out and ran around cursing at each other in Korean. The top brass quickly hatched a new plan and Samsung ordered the engineers to totally redesign the Samsung tablet and to make it thinner, otherwise their heads would get chopped off. Luckily for them, they successfully completed the task.
Over at HP, unlike Samsung, HP decides to keep their tablet design, which was based on the first generation iPad. When you see what the inside of a Touchpad looks like, it's possible that HP just didn't have the competence or the skill to make a thin tablet. Maybe Samsung had access to some information that they weren't supposed to have, and that's how they were able to redesign their tablet so quickly. I mean, it's not like Apple is suing Samsung or anything like that.
This is the exact same thing they did with the Slate 500. Remember, it started out its life as a consumer tablet when introduced by Steve Balmer. Only after the iPad was unveiled and selling faster than they could be produced did HP decide that the Slate was actually an enterprise tablet. The WebOS tablet would be for consumers. Now that the WebOS tablet is the new Slate, where does HP go from here?
Oh god... I remember all the Engadget commenters when the original HP Slate was announced. They said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It ran Windows... it was the perfect tablet.
Then the iPad was announced.
It took a few months... but HP finally realized what they were up against. See the attached image below.
Then... the HP Slate was scrapped. But it came back. I mean... they had Steve Ballmer on stage showing the thing off... they had to produce it, right?
Finally... it came out as an $800 "business tablet" and no one talk about it anymore.
The HP TouchPad sounds great, in theory. But The iPad is just too strong. HP has been down this road once before... of course HP is gonna say they aren't trying to dethrone the iPad.
In their defense they could have could called it their tablet the TouchPadPodPro but didn't. Surely that's evident of something.
Because they actually took Jonny Ives quote to heart: "it's what we don't include is what makes it special". Name, apps, stability... just don't include those and your on to something BIG!
If anything companies are gonna be more interested in iPads because there are more developers for them out there to make apps and plus if they want to make apps then of course will have those. I'm pretty sure the HP Touchpad will be a great web browsing tablet like all the alternatives out there there's not a big enough audience and ecosystem out there to back them up. Add in the fact that this tablet is the same price, heavier, and less apps for the same price (not HP's fault because Apple price fixes components) then you're not gonna have a very successful device.
I know there are many people out there that like to say that iOS devices are crap because 99 percent of the apps out there are garbage but more apps out there also means more high quality apps. The less higher quality apps out there the better because I don't want to always spend more money on stuff I don't need
a new report claims Apple is set to overtake HP next year as the world's leading portable PC vendor, if iPads are taken into account.
"Perhaps iOS 5’s paramount feature is that it’s built to seamlessly work with iCloud in the Post PC revolution that Apple is leading," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs earlier this month.
McDonalds will be the world's leading Mac vendor if Big Macs are taken into account.
If the iPad is a Post PC device, then it is not a PC.
Out of all the competitors to the iPad, HP is the only one I will wish "good luck!" and mean it.
They obviously wont dethrone the iPad (at least for the foreseable future), but HP put out some very nice equipment imho. This tablet, once its gotten the edges roughed out, should be enough to keep Apple on their toes I think.
As some have noted, HP's challenge at the current price point is "why would I get this over an iPad?" It's a considerable challenge when you are talking about a device that you hold in your hands for extended periods of time. The materials and build quality of the iPad are insane when compared to the TouchPad. At the same exact price point, most people will feel like they are getting a higher quality product in the iPad. Another thing that's funny is that there were all those jokes of the first-gen iPad being an oversized iPod touch, but the TouchPad really looks like a gigantic iPhone 3GS. HP occasionally puts out decent looking hardware and hopefully they can step up their hardware game in the TouchPad 2.
It's truly unfortunate because I think webOS has huge potential. It is in some dire need of optimization, and I am hoping that they can work it out. Some of the UX paradigms are fantastic, but there are aspects of webOS that just seem neglected. It's weird; I have been following webOS since it was first announced and speed has been somewhat of an issue from the outset. At this point, I hope it can get worked out and first impressions of webOS 3.0's speed don't hinder growth.
If there is any platform other than iOS that I hope thrives, it's webOS. It's visual polish and UX are top notch. It's also the only platform that I would even consider other than my current iPhone and iPad setup. I have had random experiences with Android, and it's not anything I would voluntarily use, but webOS has potential.
This was the funniest bit of the whole article, evn though it's completely unrelated to the TouchPad:
Quote:
The company's non-aggressive strategy with the iPad takes a different tack from other tablet competitors. For instance, Motorola's ads for its Android-based Xoom tablet have portrayed iOS users as drones, while Research in Motion marketed its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with the slogan "Amateur hour is over."
In hindsight, it's almost beyond comprehension how Motorola marketing ever came up with the brilliant idea trying to sell the Xoom by painting a picture as if iPad users are drones, what were they thinking? That they were going to sell more Xooms to the <1% of people who think they are so f*ing special they can't be seen using a popular product enjoyed by millions of people, such as the iPad? . The RIM slogan is even better, 'Amateur hour is over', it's almost sad now we've all seen how the Playbook turned out. Maybe they were referring to 'iPad killers' of yore, like the JooJoo and the Notion Ink Adam?
WeoOS, or it's potential, is the most praised part of the TouchPad. This is what HP paid for. One thing that might be forgotten is that WebOS is WebKit running on a Linux kernel. It is possible that this imposes some fundamental problems on it's flexibility and performance on current generation hardware.
When Palm Pre was released, the hardware it ran on was twice as fast as the 1st generation iPhone, but it felt the same. That is, the WebOS performed twice as slow compared to the iOS.
We are two years from the Pre now. The hardware is even faster, and the WebOS is still sluggish. What is the reason to expect that this will be fixed real soon with a software update? The perpetual expectation for the next great update started with Pre, and now the TouchPad takes over!
Ah, and the superior, the "real" multitasking! It was causing even more sluggishness with the Pre, and the same problems are back with the TouchPad! May be this "real" multitasking is not that great of advantage after all, may be Apple got it right, and WebOS team did not?
Not realistic, but funny...They might do that if they plan to discontinue the product after making too many. With their low sales expectations I hardly think HP has ordered a lot of TouchPads.
Looks like we will be getting freebie touch pads with server and desktop bulk orders according to our man in HP.
I'm assuming you meant that to be read in a sarcastic tone. But in reality, second place isn't that bad of a place to be in. It's third place (or fourth or fifth...) that you don't want to be in. Sure, Windows is the number 1 OS and the mac is number 2... but number 3? uhhh... McDonalds is the number 1 burger chain and Burger King is number 2... but number 3???
I can understand companies saying this, because it's not realistic to be able to knock off an 80%+ marketshare leader in a product category the company basically invented.
There is an incentive to buy Android over iPhone for some people. You can get Android phones for less in some cases, or have more freedom choosing your wireless carrier. Android is a great platform for people who crave customization and a little extra freedom. My Android phone is a little low end, but I paid $150 and have a $25/mo no contract unlimited data/text plan. That's a nice advantage over the iPhone.
But what incentive is there to buy any other product than an iPad? If you are going to plunk $500 down on a product like it, why would you buy a different one?
The iPad is the:
- cheapest
- best
- thinnest
- highest quality (materials)
- most "fashionable"
product in its class.
The good news is, from what read, there will be an alternative, low end iPhone soon that meets your criteria so you can dump the Android too
Comments
If HP could create an application store and earn $20 per business application they might make up for the initial low selling price.
HP had the iPad in mind the whole time, that much is fairly obvious. If it weren't for the iPad, HP would never have released or even thought of making their Touchpad in the first place. The same goes for every other tablet maker that is not Apple. They're all trying to grab a tiny piece of the tablet pie. Most have only gotten a few pathetic crumbs so far.
When the iPad 2 was announced, after Steve Jobs showed off the shocking new design of the iPad 2, the people at Samsung basically freaked out and ran around cursing at each other in Korean. The top brass quickly hatched a new plan and Samsung ordered the engineers to totally redesign the Samsung tablet and to make it thinner, otherwise their heads would get chopped off. Luckily for them, they successfully completed the task.
Over at HP, unlike Samsung, HP decides to keep their tablet design, which was based on the first generation iPad. When you see what the inside of a Touchpad looks like, it's possible that HP just didn't have the competence or the skill to make a thin tablet. Maybe Samsung had access to some information that they weren't supposed to have, and that's how they were able to redesign their tablet so quickly. I mean, it's not like Apple is suing Samsung or anything like that.
This is the exact same thing they did with the Slate 500. Remember, it started out its life as a consumer tablet when introduced by Steve Balmer. Only after the iPad was unveiled and selling faster than they could be produced did HP decide that the Slate was actually an enterprise tablet. The WebOS tablet would be for consumers. Now that the WebOS tablet is the new Slate, where does HP go from here?
Oh god... I remember all the Engadget commenters when the original HP Slate was announced. They said it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. It ran Windows... it was the perfect tablet.
Then the iPad was announced.
It took a few months... but HP finally realized what they were up against. See the attached image below.
Then... the HP Slate was scrapped. But it came back. I mean... they had Steve Ballmer on stage showing the thing off... they had to produce it, right?
Finally... it came out as an $800 "business tablet" and no one talk about it anymore.
The HP TouchPad sounds great, in theory. But The iPad is just too strong. HP has been down this road once before... of course HP is gonna say they aren't trying to dethrone the iPad.
In their defense they could have could called it their tablet the TouchPadPodPro but didn't. Surely that's evident of something.
Because they actually took Jonny Ives quote to heart: "it's what we don't include is what makes it special". Name, apps, stability... just don't include those and your on to something BIG!
I know there are many people out there that like to say that iOS devices are crap because 99 percent of the apps out there are garbage but more apps out there also means more high quality apps. The less higher quality apps out there the better because I don't want to always spend more money on stuff I don't need
a new report claims Apple is set to overtake HP next year as the world's leading portable PC vendor, if iPads are taken into account.
"Perhaps iOS 5’s paramount feature is that it’s built to seamlessly work with iCloud in the Post PC revolution that Apple is leading," said Apple CEO Steve Jobs earlier this month.
McDonalds will be the world's leading Mac vendor if Big Macs are taken into account.
If the iPad is a Post PC device, then it is not a PC.
They obviously wont dethrone the iPad (at least for the foreseable future), but HP put out some very nice equipment imho. This tablet, once its gotten the edges roughed out, should be enough to keep Apple on their toes I think.
Heh, remember when the media joked about the iPad's name when it came out? Who's laughing now?
It's truly unfortunate because I think webOS has huge potential. It is in some dire need of optimization, and I am hoping that they can work it out. Some of the UX paradigms are fantastic, but there are aspects of webOS that just seem neglected. It's weird; I have been following webOS since it was first announced and speed has been somewhat of an issue from the outset. At this point, I hope it can get worked out and first impressions of webOS 3.0's speed don't hinder growth.
If there is any platform other than iOS that I hope thrives, it's webOS. It's visual polish and UX are top notch. It's also the only platform that I would even consider other than my current iPhone and iPad setup. I have had random experiences with Android, and it's not anything I would voluntarily use, but webOS has potential.
The company's non-aggressive strategy with the iPad takes a different tack from other tablet competitors. For instance, Motorola's ads for its Android-based Xoom tablet have portrayed iOS users as drones, while Research in Motion marketed its BlackBerry PlayBook tablet with the slogan "Amateur hour is over."
In hindsight, it's almost beyond comprehension how Motorola marketing ever came up with the brilliant idea trying to sell the Xoom by painting a picture as if iPad users are drones, what were they thinking? That they were going to sell more Xooms to the <1% of people who think they are so f*ing special they can't be seen using a popular product enjoyed by millions of people, such as the iPad?
When Palm Pre was released, the hardware it ran on was twice as fast as the 1st generation iPhone, but it felt the same. That is, the WebOS performed twice as slow compared to the iOS.
We are two years from the Pre now. The hardware is even faster, and the WebOS is still sluggish. What is the reason to expect that this will be fixed real soon with a software update? The perpetual expectation for the next great update started with Pre, and now the TouchPad takes over!
Ah, and the superior, the "real" multitasking! It was causing even more sluggishness with the Pre, and the same problems are back with the TouchPad! May be this "real" multitasking is not that great of advantage after all, may be Apple got it right, and WebOS team did not?
Not realistic, but funny...They might do that if they plan to discontinue the product after making too many. With their low sales expectations I hardly think HP has ordered a lot of TouchPads.
Looks like we will be getting freebie touch pads with server and desktop bulk orders according to our man in HP.
Slogan idea:
HP: Winning the race to the bottom.
McDonalds will be the world's leading Mac vendor if Big Macs are taken into account.
If the iPad is a Post PC device, then it is not a PC.
hahahahahahhaahhahhaa, you are awesome.
Our goal is to produce a number 2 product.
I'm assuming you meant that to be read in a sarcastic tone. But in reality, second place isn't that bad of a place to be in. It's third place (or fourth or fifth...) that you don't want to be in. Sure, Windows is the number 1 OS and the mac is number 2... but number 3? uhhh... McDonalds is the number 1 burger chain and Burger King is number 2... but number 3???
Looks like we will be getting freebie touch pads with server and desktop bulk orders according to our man in HP.
Haha just like I said. I wonder how many companies will say "no thanks" to free TouchPads because they already have a fleet of iPads deployed!
I can understand companies saying this, because it's not realistic to be able to knock off an 80%+ marketshare leader in a product category the company basically invented.
There is an incentive to buy Android over iPhone for some people. You can get Android phones for less in some cases, or have more freedom choosing your wireless carrier. Android is a great platform for people who crave customization and a little extra freedom. My Android phone is a little low end, but I paid $150 and have a $25/mo no contract unlimited data/text plan. That's a nice advantage over the iPhone.
But what incentive is there to buy any other product than an iPad? If you are going to plunk $500 down on a product like it, why would you buy a different one?
The iPad is the:
- cheapest
- best
- thinnest
- highest quality (materials)
- most "fashionable"
product in its class.
The good news is, from what read, there will be an alternative, low end iPhone soon that meets your criteria so you can dump the Android too