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Saying Goodbye to the HP TouchPad

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HP TouchPadLike many I was stunned at the news from HP last week that they were dropping their interest in webOS hardware. Like some I think it is probably the beginning of the end of webOS, even with many (including HP) saying it might still have a life. I was more amused than stunned at the craziness surrounding the fire sale of TouchPads this weekend. It proves once again that price is extremely important when it comes to mobile devices, even those that don’t have a future.

So, last evening I restored the HP TouchPad I bought on July 2 back to factory condition, boxed it up and returned it to Best Buy. The return went off without a hitch and soon I’ll see the amount credited back to my credit card. So, long TouchPad.

I had thought of keeping it, if nothing more than as a collectors edition. After all I also picked up a Touchstone charger and an HP case for the device. (Actually they were given to me as birthday gifts.) But I also thought it might be interesting to see how the future pans out. At the moment there is a ton of activity and interest out there, but I imagine that will eventually fade away. Although I find it more than curious that apparently the devices are going for around $300 on eBay at the moment. It is hard enough to keep up with what’s going on with new mobile devices in today’s gadget rat race and trying to keep my own interest up in what will become a die hard community effort probably isn’t in the cards. At least in my case. So, I came to my senses and realized that I should take advantage of HP and Best Buy extending the return window from 14 days to 60 days.

There was an interesting discussion at the Best Buy customer service counter as several of the employees gathered around to take the device out of the box, ostensibly to see if it was in working condition. (They later said that it didn’t matter for the return to go through.) After chatting amiably for a bit, it turns out several of them were in their own little bidding war for who was going to purchase this 32GB unit.

Cruising around the store after the transaction was complete I noticed the end cap where the TouchPad used to be displayed was completely bare with only a couple of cables left for the display unit, along with the lock down device.

What a sad spectacle this has all turned out to be.

By the way, if anyone is looking for a Touchstone charger and the HP case for a TouchPad, drop me an email and make an offer. UPDATE: these accessories have been sold.

10 Comments

10 Comments

  1. Neil T

    08/23/2011 at 2:39 pm

    I ordered a 16gb Touchpad for $99…..hopefully the order actually goes through.  How I look at it is All I want it to do is browse the internet, watch youtube videos and tweet on twitter.  So with that in mind it doesn’t really matter what support (if any) the Touchpad gets from now on.

  2. Neil T

    08/23/2011 at 2:39 pm

    I ordered a 16gb Touchpad for $99…..hopefully the order actually goes through.  How I look at it is All I want it to do is browse the internet, watch youtube videos and tweet on twitter.  So with that in mind it doesn’t really matter what support (if any) the Touchpad gets from now on.

  3. Anonymous

    08/23/2011 at 2:46 pm

    Well, I did the opposite.  I went back to Best Buy with my July 1 receipt for $549.00 plus tax($50 pre Credit applied), and got a $430.00 credit, making my fantastic 32GB(82GB with Box) net cost(after $50 app credit)  $99.00.  As news is out that webOs will continue to be developed(QuickOffice gets editing capabilities this week), and as I see over twenty new apps on my Touchpad since HP’s fire sale announcement, I am extremely happy with what I have at such a great price.  I mean, here I am with the best operating system tablet in the universe, for $99 bucks!!  Plus there is still a decent probability that webOS will live on, since HP is still going to put webOS on their printers and PC’s!!

    Sorry I can’t take your accessories off your  hands, becasue I already have them.

    • Bowman

      08/23/2011 at 3:41 pm

      Thats a lie. Best Buy wasnt price matching, only refunds.

      • KevinBee

        08/23/2011 at 5:53 pm

        Best Buy will price match. Mine was was purchased Saturday for $399. They returned it for full price and re sold it to me off of the receipt for $99. 

      • Patrick

        08/23/2011 at 6:37 pm

        Got my $428 back last night for my 16G TP.  Was originally purchased for work and expensed; now I’ll get an Asus Eee Pad and who knows?  Maybe a Touchstone charger?  They’ll let me keep the HP now for my own use, and the office will have the Asus.  Not a bad deal in the end.

      • Anonymous

        08/29/2011 at 4:42 pm

        Bowman, don’t ever call me a liar!! I, last Sunday at 11:00 am walked into Best Buy, because they decided to price match. I DID get my $400 credit($430 inclding the tax. Maybe you should’ve been paying more attentiopn. Go search youself!!

  4. Thomas Mc

    08/23/2011 at 3:22 pm

    At $99, definitely worth it. At $250, not so much. At $300, I wouldn’t even consider it.

    The problem with tech pricing, is that the consumer knows that a new product WILL come down in price, so they wait, and often a good product fails. A better strategy would be to have at-cost introductory prices, then raise the price in increments. Then instead of waiting for something better, people would be buying NOW to get a better price, and a good product would have a much better chance of catching on. And the sellers could learn where the best price/sales point is.

  5. Steven Strickler

    08/24/2011 at 2:35 am

    At $99 it is definitely a great deal. In fact, I picked up 3 at http://www.fatdeals.net and a bunch of accessories for bargain prices.  Don’t pay retail for these!

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