Reminds me of a store I used to see, for about two years they had a 'Going Out Of Business Sale' in their window. Using it as a way to get people in the door. Either your out of the tablet business or your not, stop lying to folks. Because if it's December and theirs still "one more batch," they're lying and using it to get sales and quick money.
Was this in Downtown Pasadena * ... We're celebrating our 10th annual "going out of business sale".
* Jerry Something or other's Jewelry store... seriously,
Hewlett-Packard has suggested in an interview that it is considering reviving the TouchPad in view of a potential spinoff of its computer division, and has confirmed that ?one last run? of webOS tablets will be manufactured to ?meet unfulfilled demand.?
HP announced plans to discontinue webOS hardware development on Aug. 18, as well as an interest in spinning off its PC business to focus on enterprise software development instead.
Since then the company permanently cut the price of the base TouchPad model to $99.99, while taking a $100 million charge in the process.
Todd Bradley, HP?s Personal System Group head and former Palm executive, told Reuters on Tuesday that the company is considering spinning off its computer business, thus reinforcing previous statements made by other HP officials.
HP is reportedly expected to reach a decision regarding the future of the PC division by the end of the year with a spinoff being ?considered the best option for shareholders,? a belief also shared by Bradley.
He expressed his intention to lead the resulting standalone company, which would become a ?full-fledged computer maker spanning tablets, ultra-thin and all-in-one PCs." The executive also added his belief that "tablet computing is a segment of the market that's relevant, absolutely," without making specific references to the TouchPad or other competing products.
Selling the PC arm of the company to rival companies such as Acer and Lenovo is, however, ?not a desirable alternative,? Bradley said.
Referring to HP suppliers in China, where Bradley is currently on a business trip, he said that the company would increase investments in Shanghai and further expand its manufacturing base there in the following three years, noting that the region is ?a critically important market for HP.? According to him, Shanghai will eventually become "a regional headquarters in China for the PSG.?
HP may have to renegotiate and redefine its current relationships with its suppliers, but Bradley remains confident in the future of the company: ?We will be one of, if not the largest, customers of all our major suppliers, be it Samsung to LG to Microsoft to Intel,? he said.
Regarding the company?s mobile platform, Bradley admitted that ?a number of companies had expressed interest in possibly using webOS,? but that his visit in China has nothing to do with announcing or negotiating ?anything regarding webOS.?
Samsung has been recently rumored to be interested in buying HP?s PC business, a report the South Korean-based company later denied. The company was also said to consider purchasing the webOS platform, a move that would put it in a better position to compete against iOS devices.
HP CEO Léo Apotheker admitted earlier this month that "the tablet effect is real," suggesting that Apple's iPad has had a cannibalizing effect on the company's PC business. Supporting that assertion is the fact that the TouchPad was launched only in July 2011 and canceled just six weeks later after poor sales ?in the face of stiff competition? from Apple.
In an unexpected move, Mark Budgell, PR Manager and Social Media Strategy at HP, confirmed on Tuesday via the company?s official blog that a limited final run of TouchPad tablets will be manufactured during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 ending on October 31.
If it's so great, then why does it run like crap? I've read plenty of comments from people who bought one, and many say that it freezes randomly, it stutters, lags and it's slow.
It's the freakin hardware! Geesh. If you put IOS on a crappy HP tablet and you will have a product that freezes randomly, lags and is slow.
How ever much money HP looses on unit they can make up in volume
The WebOS software is pointless to have if there is no hardware to run it. If HP pursued an aggressive licensing strategy I think they could succeed but not knowing what their plans are for WebOS is what the problem is. It seems like HP spent a billion dollars on nothing and would've been better off letting HTC or someone else make a bid for WebOS.
To me HTC is the most credible company that could really do right by WebOS. Google rather than wasting it's time with Android probably should've went the WebOS route. It's more closely aligned with their company strategy. WebOS is a better android in many ways. I really like their multi-tasking. I wish iOS had better multi tasking.
1. I've messed with some Android tablets, they're confusing and not selling very well. Why would you hack the touchpad that has a reportedly solid OS to put something worse on it? Apps? Updates? For the lulz? This is a serious question, not trying to be a dick.
2. Devaluing WebOS due to firesale... Maybe, but they're moving at $250 online (ebay) from basically scalpers and everyones talking about what an awesome deal it is. If this is a plan to get it out there rather than what it is on it's face, I look forward to seeing what's next.
webOS is one of the most intuitive mobile OS on the market next to iOS.
It has a serious chance of giving Apple a run for its money if all the right stars align in place.
Hardware acquisition (or partnership with a big firm like Samsung or HTC), deals with Google for web services, a retail deal with Amazon (though highly unlikely as Amazon will be having its own tablet out in the near future).
If only it was actually a finished OS you might be right but, its not, doesn't look like it will ever be and has no third party support beyond hobbyists.
Of course, buy one for $99, or buy half a dozen, they make pretty good placemats at the dining table.
When they pulled it I thought of the Salad Cream stunt and then thought naah. I can't imagine retailers being happy with HP if they are forced to carry the loss of the bouncing around in street price.
Let me guess, the furniture store that was on the corner of 9th and Harrison in SF???
Quote:
Originally Posted by mesomorphicman
Reminds me of a store I used to see, for about two years they had a 'Going Out Of Business Sale' in their window. Using it as a way to get people in the door. Either your out of the tablet business or your not, stop lying to folks. Because if it's December and theirs still "one more batch," they're lying and using it to get sales and quick money.
HP is still offering phone support on the TouchPads. My dad got one and called them about some problem with the E-Mail client constantly trying to fetch messages.
Probably have been tons of support calls since they've been $99. Must suck paying to support a device you lost $300 on. The money put widens.
They probably have contracted shipments that they have to dump or otherwise write them of as well. Better to get $99 than zero.
My guess is that it also relates to their attempts to sell WebOS. The more Touchpads out there, the better WebOS looks to a potential buyer. Plus, even if the additional units cost them as much to finish as they're receiving, unhappy suppliers could impact the sale of WebOS.
It is nothing to do with WebOS, it is a all to do with the management of HP. How on earth can a dramatic decision to kill WebOS now be turned around just because HP can sell lots of product provided it looses money on each one?
What is HP thinking? Not a lot.
It is a pig of a device, and now that enough people have one, it will become common knowledge that it is a pig.
HP is on a path of going out of business. Even when it is the largest desktop PC manufacturer in the world, HP can't make money out of it. HP's management is hopeless; they have given up on the desktop, they have given up on the tablet, Servers will be next and then what ?
HP can't even make money on their printers. The only time HP makes money on a printer is when the customer purchases their 2nd ink refill.
It is a sad business, looking for somewhere to lay down and die.
It is a pig of a device, and now that enough people have one, it will become common knowledge that it is a pig.
\ I really like mine. Sure its a bit rough around the edges (the web browser rendering can be a bit shoddy sometimes), but webOS is genuine attempt (unlike Android) to do something different from iOS, and I was surprised how non-junky the tablet was in its default (3.0.2) configuration given all the moaning I'd heard on the web.
The TouchPad is far from a "pig". The OS needs some TLC (upgrading the WebKit to the latest version with improved Javascript performance would help a lot), but its really a nice tablet that if it weren't for the iPad should have had a long and healthy future.
For the record, I also own an iPad 2 and have owned iPhones since the day they first came out, and also own 8 Macs, so don't be calling me anti-Apple!
webOS is one of the most intuitive mobile OS on the market next to iOS.
It has a serious chance of giving Apple a run for its money if all the right stars align in place.
Consumers don't care about OS. Repeat as necessary until that sticks. Consumers just want a product that works - and ideally "the" product that's currently #1 / a hit / being seen and used everywhere. (And lets be clear, the people posting on AI are not a representative sample of consumers!)
I don't know of a single non-geek friend who looks at the tablet market and says "Hmm, I like the flexibility of webOS and it seems to have great growth potential." They say "Hmm, this iPad is pretty cool... and I don't know anyone who has a TouchPad... I'll take the iPad!"
What a bunch of Bozos. The infighting at HP must be tremendous. They'll totally loose site of things for the next 2 years because of this dribble. Spin the PC and WebOS off now and go let those people succeed without the SAP oversite.
Looks like Carly left a long-lasting legacy of sheer incompetence at the head of HP.
Hey, sure, we're losing over $200 every TouchPad we sell, but we'll make it up in volume!
The whole TouchPad story has been a giant clusterfuck. Their entire ordering systems have been disrupted over this fire sale, and not only have they been losing hundreds of millions over the debacle, but they've also managed to incapacitate their ordering system for weeks, preventing customers from ordering profitable equipment and pissing off paying customers.
What a normally corticated exec would have done is made this someone else problem, for instance by offloading the inventory to clearance specialists like Woot and/or selling at a less disastrously low price. $199 would have been much smarter.
Alternatively, they could have set up completely separate ordering and delivery systems. Instead, they chose to cripple their bread and butter operations. All of these VPs don't have the common sense of a gnat. I should have their job and golden parachute and they should be living under a bridge. This is criminal incompetence.
That's the iSuppli breakdown figure for materials costs, which doesn't include manufacturing, packaging or shipping (or advertising, but I doubt that's much of an issue at this point).
Let's be super generous and say that HP can make, box and ship each TouchPad for $30-- that's still at least a $200 loss per unit, which adds up to a pretty big write-off. Although less, I suppose, than just letting unsold tablets molder in a warehouse. But of course the only way it makes sense to so brutally undercut your own pricing structure is if you never plan to sell that item again. Otherwise you actually are just better off eating the inventory, which is why any talk of reviving the TouchPad strike me as fatuous.
Comments
Reminds me of a store I used to see, for about two years they had a 'Going Out Of Business Sale' in their window. Using it as a way to get people in the door. Either your out of the tablet business or your not, stop lying to folks. Because if it's December and theirs still "one more batch," they're lying and using it to get sales and quick money.
Was this in Downtown Pasadena * ... We're celebrating our 10th annual "going out of business sale".
* Jerry Something or other's Jewelry store... seriously,
Hewlett-Packard has suggested in an interview that it is considering reviving the TouchPad in view of a potential spinoff of its computer division, and has confirmed that ?one last run? of webOS tablets will be manufactured to ?meet unfulfilled demand.?
HP announced plans to discontinue webOS hardware development on Aug. 18, as well as an interest in spinning off its PC business to focus on enterprise software development instead.
Since then the company permanently cut the price of the base TouchPad model to $99.99, while taking a $100 million charge in the process.
Todd Bradley, HP?s Personal System Group head and former Palm executive, told Reuters on Tuesday that the company is considering spinning off its computer business, thus reinforcing previous statements made by other HP officials.
HP is reportedly expected to reach a decision regarding the future of the PC division by the end of the year with a spinoff being ?considered the best option for shareholders,? a belief also shared by Bradley.
He expressed his intention to lead the resulting standalone company, which would become a ?full-fledged computer maker spanning tablets, ultra-thin and all-in-one PCs." The executive also added his belief that "tablet computing is a segment of the market that's relevant, absolutely," without making specific references to the TouchPad or other competing products.
Selling the PC arm of the company to rival companies such as Acer and Lenovo is, however, ?not a desirable alternative,? Bradley said.
Referring to HP suppliers in China, where Bradley is currently on a business trip, he said that the company would increase investments in Shanghai and further expand its manufacturing base there in the following three years, noting that the region is ?a critically important market for HP.? According to him, Shanghai will eventually become "a regional headquarters in China for the PSG.?
HP may have to renegotiate and redefine its current relationships with its suppliers, but Bradley remains confident in the future of the company: ?We will be one of, if not the largest, customers of all our major suppliers, be it Samsung to LG to Microsoft to Intel,? he said.
Regarding the company?s mobile platform, Bradley admitted that ?a number of companies had expressed interest in possibly using webOS,? but that his visit in China has nothing to do with announcing or negotiating ?anything regarding webOS.?
Samsung has been recently rumored to be interested in buying HP?s PC business, a report the South Korean-based company later denied. The company was also said to consider purchasing the webOS platform, a move that would put it in a better position to compete against iOS devices.
HP CEO Léo Apotheker admitted earlier this month that "the tablet effect is real," suggesting that Apple's iPad has had a cannibalizing effect on the company's PC business. Supporting that assertion is the fact that the TouchPad was launched only in July 2011 and canceled just six weeks later after poor sales ?in the face of stiff competition? from Apple.
In an unexpected move, Mark Budgell, PR Manager and Social Media Strategy at HP, confirmed on Tuesday via the company?s official blog that a limited final run of TouchPad tablets will be manufactured during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2011 ending on October 31.
[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]
A good way to get something for parts already committed to. I hope these TPs do something in the future, at least they could be an OK eBook Reader.
If it's so great, then why does it run like crap? I've read plenty of comments from people who bought one, and many say that it freezes randomly, it stutters, lags and it's slow.
It's the freakin hardware! Geesh. If you put IOS on a crappy HP tablet and you will have a product that freezes randomly, lags and is slow.
How ever much money HP looses on unit they can make up in volume
The WebOS software is pointless to have if there is no hardware to run it. If HP pursued an aggressive licensing strategy I think they could succeed but not knowing what their plans are for WebOS is what the problem is. It seems like HP spent a billion dollars on nothing and would've been better off letting HTC or someone else make a bid for WebOS.
To me HTC is the most credible company that could really do right by WebOS. Google rather than wasting it's time with Android probably should've went the WebOS route. It's more closely aligned with their company strategy. WebOS is a better android in many ways. I really like their multi-tasking. I wish iOS had better multi tasking.
I was able to overclock mine to 1.7GHz and it never freezes now. Hopefully someone ports Android to it though.
I used this guide to overclock: http://geekhow.com/2011/08/27/overcl...r-hp-touchpad/
2 things:
1. I've messed with some Android tablets, they're confusing and not selling very well. Why would you hack the touchpad that has a reportedly solid OS to put something worse on it? Apps? Updates? For the lulz? This is a serious question, not trying to be a dick.
2. Devaluing WebOS due to firesale... Maybe, but they're moving at $250 online (ebay) from basically scalpers and everyones talking about what an awesome deal it is. If this is a plan to get it out there rather than what it is on it's face, I look forward to seeing what's next.
If Apple decided to sell their iPad for $99.00, HP would have to sell their Touchpads for $.99 in order to convince anyone to buy it.
HP is hoping to lose money on a per-unit sale but make up for it in volume. </sarcasm>
If I were an HP shareholder, I'd be kicking up a storm at management for blowing money out the door on a 2nd run.
Why bother?
webOS is one of the most intuitive mobile OS on the market next to iOS.
It has a serious chance of giving Apple a run for its money if all the right stars align in place.
Hardware acquisition (or partnership with a big firm like Samsung or HTC), deals with Google for web services, a retail deal with Amazon (though highly unlikely as Amazon will be having its own tablet out in the near future).
If only it was actually a finished OS you might be right but, its not, doesn't look like it will ever be and has no third party support beyond hobbyists.
Of course, buy one for $99, or buy half a dozen, they make pretty good placemats at the dining table.
Hey folks... here's a reality check.
If Apple decided to sell their iPad for $99.00, HP would have to sell their Touchpads for $.99 in order to convince anyone to buy it.
HP is hoping to lose money on a per-unit sale but make up for it in volume. </sarcasm>
If I were an HP shareholder, I'd be kicking up a storm at management for blowing money out the door on a 2nd run.
They probably have contracted shipments that they have to dump or otherwise write them of as well. Better to get $99 than zero.
Reminds me of a store I used to see, for about two years they had a 'Going Out Of Business Sale' in their window. Using it as a way to get people in the door. Either your out of the tablet business or your not, stop lying to folks. Because if it's December and theirs still "one more batch," they're lying and using it to get sales and quick money.
Probably have been tons of support calls since they've been $99. Must suck paying to support a device you lost $300 on. The money put widens.
They probably have contracted shipments that they have to dump or otherwise write them of as well. Better to get $99 than zero.
My guess is that it also relates to their attempts to sell WebOS. The more Touchpads out there, the better WebOS looks to a potential buyer. Plus, even if the additional units cost them as much to finish as they're receiving, unhappy suppliers could impact the sale of WebOS.
It is nothing to do with WebOS, it is a all to do with the management of HP. How on earth can a dramatic decision to kill WebOS now be turned around just because HP can sell lots of product provided it looses money on each one?
What is HP thinking? Not a lot.
It is a pig of a device, and now that enough people have one, it will become common knowledge that it is a pig.
HP is on a path of going out of business. Even when it is the largest desktop PC manufacturer in the world, HP can't make money out of it. HP's management is hopeless; they have given up on the desktop, they have given up on the tablet, Servers will be next and then what ?
HP can't even make money on their printers. The only time HP makes money on a printer is when the customer purchases their 2nd ink refill.
It is a sad business, looking for somewhere to lay down and die.
$400 to make?
~$270 from what I've read...
It is a pig of a device, and now that enough people have one, it will become common knowledge that it is a pig.
The TouchPad is far from a "pig". The OS needs some TLC (upgrading the WebKit to the latest version with improved Javascript performance would help a lot), but its really a nice tablet that if it weren't for the iPad should have had a long and healthy future.
For the record, I also own an iPad 2 and have owned iPhones since the day they first came out, and also own 8 Macs, so don't be calling me anti-Apple!
webOS is one of the most intuitive mobile OS on the market next to iOS.
It has a serious chance of giving Apple a run for its money if all the right stars align in place.
Consumers don't care about OS. Repeat as necessary until that sticks. Consumers just want a product that works - and ideally "the" product that's currently #1 / a hit / being seen and used everywhere. (And lets be clear, the people posting on AI are not a representative sample of consumers!)
I don't know of a single non-geek friend who looks at the tablet market and says "Hmm, I like the flexibility of webOS and it seems to have great growth potential." They say "Hmm, this iPad is pretty cool... and I don't know anyone who has a TouchPad... I'll take the iPad!"
Hey, sure, we're losing over $200 every TouchPad we sell, but we'll make it up in volume!
The whole TouchPad story has been a giant clusterfuck. Their entire ordering systems have been disrupted over this fire sale, and not only have they been losing hundreds of millions over the debacle, but they've also managed to incapacitate their ordering system for weeks, preventing customers from ordering profitable equipment and pissing off paying customers.
What a normally corticated exec would have done is made this someone else problem, for instance by offloading the inventory to clearance specialists like Woot and/or selling at a less disastrously low price. $199 would have been much smarter.
Alternatively, they could have set up completely separate ordering and delivery systems. Instead, they chose to cripple their bread and butter operations. All of these VPs don't have the common sense of a gnat. I should have their job and golden parachute and they should be living under a bridge. This is criminal incompetence.
It's as if they forgot what happened when they tried to sell them full price.
It's as if they forgot what happened when they tried selling them after slashing $100 off the full price.
IDIOTS.
~$270 from what I've read...
That's the iSuppli breakdown figure for materials costs, which doesn't include manufacturing, packaging or shipping (or advertising, but I doubt that's much of an issue at this point).
Let's be super generous and say that HP can make, box and ship each TouchPad for $30-- that's still at least a $200 loss per unit, which adds up to a pretty big write-off. Although less, I suppose, than just letting unsold tablets molder in a warehouse. But of course the only way it makes sense to so brutally undercut your own pricing structure is if you never plan to sell that item again. Otherwise you actually are just better off eating the inventory, which is why any talk of reviving the TouchPad strike me as fatuous.