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What Can (Should) We Learn from the HP $99 TouchPad Fire Sale?

By
August 23, 2011
  • ReadWriteWeb journalist Dan Rowinski posted an interesting op-ed piece this week: “HP’s $99 TouchPad Fire Sale Can Teach Everybody A Lesson.”
  • “Tablets priced at $99 flying off the shelves and what had been a significant headline on Tuesday (Best Buy has 250,000 unsold TouchPads) had completely turned around on Sunday (Good Luck Finding a $99 TouchPad),” writes Rowinski. “It got me to thinking. As much as consumers love their Apple products and the iPad is a terrific device, consumers want something that is price efficient, even if it is a touch flawed. With literally hundreds of thousands of TouchPads sold over the weekend, a significant note should be playing in retailers’ and manufacturers’ heads — opportunities await for those willing to make a sacrifice.”
  • Rowinski speculates that an iPad killer is not in our immediate future. He also suggests that major changes are in the making with the browser-based mobile apps enabled by HTML5. He discusses tablets by Motorola, Samsung, HTC and Research In Motion and how price point may become as significant a factor as available apps. He addresses how Amazon learned valuable lessons with its Kindle and could possibly “recreate the Kindle furor by introducing a tablet into the market at $200 or less.”
  • “The great equalizer will be price,” writes Rowinski. “Amazon and to a certain extent Microsoft with Windows 8 have actually benefited from waiting to enter the tablet wars. They now see the battlefield in front of them and what it will take to make an impact. Quality devices with reasonable prices. Then turn and make money through value-added services.”

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12 Comments

  1. David Wertheimer August 22, 2011 at 02:48pm

    Everyone talks like the tablet game is over. Sure, Apple is cleaning up at this moment…but this game is far from over.

  2. Benn Carr August 22, 2011 at 04:03pm

    I have no bias wrt OS’s. I agree with Bryan that UI and cool apps make the difference. May the best gadget win.

  3. David Wertheimer August 22, 2011 at 02:48pm

    Everyone talks like the tablet game is over. Sure, Apple is cleaning up at this moment…but this game is far from over.

  4. Benn Carr August 22, 2011 at 04:03pm

    I have no bias wrt OS’s. I agree with Bryan that UI and cool apps make the difference. May the best gadget win.

  5. Bryan Gonzalez August 22, 2011 at 03:42pm

    It’s going to take time to build a user base outside of the iPad. Right now companies feel they can only compete with making a tablet have better technical specs than the iPad. Companies need to get out of the frame of mind and work harder on matching the iPad’s ease of use.

  6. Bryan Gonzalez August 22, 2011 at 03:42pm

    It’s going to take time to build a user base outside of the iPad. Right now companies feel they can only compete with making a tablet have better technical specs than the iPad. Companies need to get out of the frame of mind and work harder on matching the iPad’s ease of use.

  7. Paula Parisi August 22, 2011 at 03:45pm

    Being a PC-person, it pains me to admit this, but I think that as with the iPod Apple may wind up owning this space for quite a while. The iPad’s combination of elegance and tech specs will be tough to top.

  8. Paula Parisi August 22, 2011 at 03:45pm

    Being a PC-person, it pains me to admit this, but I think that as with the iPod Apple may wind up owning this space for quite a while. The iPad’s combination of elegance and tech specs will be tough to top.

  9. Bob Lambert August 22, 2011 at 04:28pm

    I’m waitin’ to get one for $49.

  10. Bob Lambert August 22, 2011 at 04:28pm

    I’m waitin’ to get one for $49.

  11. George Gerba August 22, 2011 at 04:44pm

    My first thought was that this seemed like an SAP approach to the problem but as I think about it HP’s software work to customize their products has always appeared marginally successful at the task and more often than not thick and clumsy. Perhaps they realized to late that enthusiasm for the product space did place it any closer to their strong suit. Apple when they are paying attention can’t be bested in integrating good tech and straight forward software design into a transformative experience. Finally the clear rise of ease of use as we get closer to the proverbial “toaster”…

  12. George Gerba August 22, 2011 at 04:44pm

    My first thought was that this seemed like an SAP approach to the problem but as I think about it HP’s software work to customize their products has always appeared marginally successful at the task and more often than not thick and clumsy. Perhaps they realized to late that enthusiasm for the product space did place it any closer to their strong suit. Apple when they are paying attention can’t be bested in integrating good tech and straight forward software design into a transformative experience. Finally the clear rise of ease of use as we get closer to the proverbial “toaster”…

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