Apple iPad rival HP Slate sees demand fizzle at 9,000 units

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  • Reply 21 of 137
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maccherry View Post


    I read the specs for that "SLATE" and was not impressed! It's nothing but a keyboardless netbook. Period.



    I dunno. Uncle Ballmer seemed to be pretty jazzed up about them this past January. He was even wearing a sweater while he posed next to the HP Slate and some other alleged "slate PCs". Nothing says "Microsoft is consumer friendly" than Steve Ballmer wearing a sweater.





    Think I'm kidding? Ever see The Pirates of Silicon Valley? Bill Gates was told to put a sweater on to appear more accessible for a TV commerical. Hell, you could put a sweater on Mark Zuckerberg and the haters would stop hating.



    An underpowered, amputated netbook running Windows 7 is exactly what business users have been waiting for. That's why they haven't bought Tablet PCs and UMPCs by the boatload in decades past.



    He seemed enthused about them again at this year's D8 Conference while Ray Ozzie looked at him with his "you did not just say that" look.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by maccherry View Post


    Are we to believe that RIM, in just 4 months, will all of a sudden manufacture, along with credible software, 'THE BUSINESS TABLET" that apparently the world has been longing for?



    No, but RIM has to try. Their strategy is not a bad one: rush an iPad clone to market before the avalanche of Android tablets sucks all of the air out of the market (untapped by iPad). Desperation for RIM? Absolutely. But what are they going to do? Fix the Torch?
  • Reply 22 of 137
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Mac Voyer View Post


    Why is it that HP fails to make a competitive product, yet, you think Apple should change their strategy? Weird...



    Spot on.



    Also, what about all those folks who were mad, just mad, that Apple would underestimate demand of the iPad (which broke all previous records) and was taking upto 1 month to deliver them, but are stunningly quiet when HP is taking 6 weeks to deliver 9000 units!



    Apple was probably selling those many iPads per minute at launch.
  • Reply 23 of 137
    ...and henceforth refer to this parade of devices as "iPad Suicide Bombers"?
  • Reply 24 of 137
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    but.. but it has full OS, USB, and HDMI ports! Everyone should want one of these instead of the big iPod touch!



    I don't know why they even bother with it if they only expected to sell 5,000 units.
  • Reply 25 of 137
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jpellino View Post


    ...and henceforth refer to this parade of devices as "iPad Suicide Bombers"?



  • Reply 26 of 137
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    but.. but it has full OS, USB, and HDMI ports! Everyone should want one of these instead of the big iPod touch!



    I don't know why they even bother with it if they only expected to sell 5,000 units.



    Its hard to say that having a USB or HDMI port is a bad thing and while I like having them the Slate was a bad idea from the start. I have an HDMI out on my Evo and it would be nice to have one on my iPad.



    I was actually surprised they decided to even release the Slate I thought the project got killed a long time ago.
  • Reply 27 of 137
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by waldobushman View Post


    Before one gets too worked up about the story, I would first be a little skeptical about the 5,000 to 9,000 unit builds. These numbers from a leaked document might be true, but I wouldn't stake any money on it.



    Hence Rumour Site



    McD
  • Reply 28 of 137
    mcdavemcdave Posts: 1,927member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by OllieWallieWhiskers View Post


    they seriously expected to sell only 5,000 of these?



    why bother?



    Makes sense. They based the figure on previous Windows Tablet sales and deducted leakage from iPad



    McD
  • Reply 29 of 137
    Simple reason. It sucks. This was obvious to everyone months ago . . . except HP.



    "Invent.". LOL



    What they "invented" is more Apple roadkill.
  • Reply 30 of 137
    nasseraenasserae Posts: 3,167member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by extremeskater View Post


    Its hard to say that having a USB or HDMI port is a bad thing and while I like having them the Slate was a bad idea from the start. I have an HDMI out on my Evo and it would be nice to have one on my iPad.



    I was actually surprised they decided to even release the Slate I thought the project got killed a long time ago.



    This just prove that a long list of hardware spec sheet is not a feature anymore and this is a threat most gadget makers can't seem to notice. However, I think HP start to realize this and this is why they bought Palm, for the software.
  • Reply 31 of 137
    "Hey, Daniel, what does the scouting report say about their sales levels?"

    Dan crushes the report, "It's under nine thousand!"

    "What!? This old joke again!?"





    Sorry couldn't resist.



    Seriously, I am overwhelmed that HP was only prepared to sell such an underwhelming number of these. Especially after the way they and MS kept talking these thing up.
  • Reply 32 of 137
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LuisDias View Post


    Apple fanboyism strikes again, and who is a greater fanboy than Daniel?



    Oh, man, I love you Daniel, but really, how on earth do you know that the Samsung Galaxy Tab was "quickly turned to anticipation of the next model"? Do you have the numbers that they are selling? FYI, they are already selling here in Portugal and I am still waiting for an iPad. Go figure...



    Thanks for pointing out the reckless 'fanboyism' of this site. Its nice to come here for rumors, but reading the 'facts' and 'reporting' from Daniel makes me sick a bit.
  • Reply 33 of 137
    "due to extraordinary demand, the HP slate is on backorder. Orders are expected to ship in 6 weeks."



    Gee. Wait six weeks for a knockoff that costs more than the original, or buy the real thing which is cheaper, drawing raves, and available right now.



    What to do, what to do.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Owen Meaney View Post


    Thanks for pointing out the reckless 'fanboyism' of this site. Its nice to come here for rumors, but reading the 'facts' and 'reporting' from Daniel makes me sick a bit.



    The most reckless 'fanboyism' on this site inevitably comes from the haters who show up like clockwork, screaming "iSheep". They're so predictable you'd think they were a bunch of... droids. I suppose you could point out that their own commercials show them being happily reduced to mindless, humorless automations, but of course the irony would be lost on them.
  • Reply 34 of 137
    In six months at random on-line tech reseller:



    HP Slate prices slashed 50%



    In twelve months:



    Slate closeout sale. All Slate accessories (are there any?) 90% off!
  • Reply 35 of 137
    jragostajragosta Posts: 10,473member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by waldobushman View Post


    Before one gets too worked up about the story, I would first be a little skeptical about the 5,000 to 9,000 unit builds. These numbers from a leaked document might be true, but I wouldn't stake any money on it.



    On the plus side, however, we do have some indication how much effort it requires for any company, even an HP, to build or contract to build factories to produce the components and assemble them and deliver them. Apple's logistical expertise is top of class and HP would need much time to compete just on those terms, regardless of how "magical" their product might be.



    Nonetheless, skepticism of the 5,000 unit numbers is still in order.



    I'd be more than skeptical. I'd be willing to bet that it's wrong.



    5,000 units at $800 is only $4 M - and that even assumes that the retailer doesn't keep any of the selling price.



    There's no way HP would develop a product for $4 M. Even if MS did all the software work, the tooling costs, marketing cost, testing costs, and support costs alone would more than eat up that much money.
  • Reply 36 of 137
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by NasserAE View Post


    This just prove that a long list of hardware spec sheet is not a feature anymore and this is a threat most gadget makers can't seem to notice. However, I think HP start to realize this and this is why they bought Palm, for the software.



    Well the Slate spec sheet never looked good to me unlike the BlackPad which actually looks pretty good power wise. Not sure how well that will do, my guess is better then this but nothing to write home about.



    I am surprised HP didn't wait to release this until they could put a different OS on.



    I still say the only product that will truly compete with the iPad is an Android based Tablet running 2.2 or 3.0 the same size as the iPad not a 7" model. Even then its coming to the game very late.



    Another year or two of product growth and there be no reason for anyone to release a Tablet they won't stand a chance against the iPad.



    As with the Smartphone industry is seems Google is the only one that can give Apple a run for its money. Which I would like to see only because it will keep making the iPad better.
  • Reply 37 of 137
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    There's no way HP would develop a product for $4 M.



    Hint: they didn't.
  • Reply 38 of 137
    mac voyermac voyer Posts: 1,294member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    I'd be more than skeptical. I'd be willing to bet that it's wrong.



    5,000 units at $800 is only $4 M - and that even assumes that the retailer doesn't keep any of the selling price.



    There's no way HP would develop a product for $4 M. Even if MS did all the software work, the tooling costs, marketing cost, testing costs, and support costs alone would more than eat up that much money.



    I, too, would be more skeptical, except for two things:



    1. It is clear that HP didn't put much into product development, user interface, design, testing, marketing, or anything else.



    2. Considering how badly they are handling the Pre 2 launch, no amount of wasteful incompetence is out of the question for HP.
  • Reply 39 of 137
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by frdmfghtr View Post


    While technically true, I'm not impressed.



    When "double anticipated volume" is 9,000 units of a product that is supposed to complete with a product which has been purchased by the millions, that tells me you never had much faith in your product to begin with.



    If I were a HP stockholder, I'd be pretty ticked off that lots of R&D and marketing money was spent on a product that wasn't expected to be successful.



    I think that HP released this because of a commitment to MS.



    Likely, they will release a similar product with ARM CPU and WebOS.



    They can wait, watch and possibly "do it right" -- if 7-inchers tube, they could release a larger form factor.



    Like Apple, HP will have control of the hardware and a powerful, proven OS and UI.



    RIMM has an unfamiliar (to them) OS recently repurposed, and (IMO) a disaster in waiting as a UI. Neither Adobe or RIMM has a [positive] track record in multitouch interfaces.



    .
  • Reply 40 of 137
    Apple doesn't have to worry about Windows-based slates. Windows, quite frankly, sucks on that form factor. It would be like putting OS X on the iPad and calling it a day. The experience would suck.



    Apple should be worried about Android tablets...but not until Froyo. In the meantime, they will keep riding a wave of utter dominance in this product category.
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