Connect with us

Hardware

WSJ: HP and Others Seek to Undercut iPad Prices

Published

on

In news that isn’t really news, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that HP and other Tablet manufacturers are seeking to undercut Apple on its iPad pricing. Of course they are looking for ways to do this. The real news would be if they weren’t.

Breathlessly reporting, the WSJ says that execs from HP will meet in the US and Taiwan in the next weeks to seek ways to bring the price of its Slate in below $629, which is the price of the iPad with a 3G connection. The article goes on to say that other manufacturers (Dell, Acer, and Sony) are watching Apple closely and even mentions Microsoft’s Courier design as something to look out for potentially.

What’s of interest in the article is the comment that many of these manufacturers risk having their devices seen as simply computers without keyboards because they rely on the Windows 7 operating system, “which is primarily aimed at traditional PC functions.” Inkers out there will notice that they don’t pick up on the fact that by using Windows 7, these devices might be able to offer Inking as a distinguishing feature. The emphasis is on “might be” in that sentence simply because the digitizer implementation will be key in determining whether or not that will be a successful feature or not.

3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. JM

    02/19/2010 at 3:08 pm

    I’m eagerly watching how all of this unfolds. It’s amazing to me how many of these companies have excluded a stylus pen as one of the components of their design. While i agree not everyone will take advantage of a stylus, you also have to agree that they’re excluding a huge market share by leaving this out. At a glance, I’m disinterested in the two screen design of the courier; but then from a business standpoint…it makes perfect sense based on how the video demonstration portrays its potential uses. In my mind, the two to watch out for hte most are the Courier, Adam and the HP tablet, but we;ll have to wait and see, I suppose.

  2. Virtuous

    02/19/2010 at 3:58 pm

    Companies don’t feel tablets need inking because the Tablet PC has been a huge failure in the retail market. HP and others will have a difficult time undercutting the iPad. The Courier possesses an interesting design, but it would be expensive.

  3. HP Slate

    02/26/2010 at 6:54 pm

    So far the HP Slate is looking the best. The iPad doesn’t have usb ports and on the go you need them when conducting business. I beleive the Apple iSlate will use stylus technology because of some of the patents that Apple applied for last year.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.