Thread: What do you guys think of the recent US HP Tablet firesale? ($99/$150 for a 16/32GB)

Did anyone pick-up a HP Touchpad during the firesale?
ME> At first I ignored it, since I had just bought a <$300 ASUS EEE Transformer 16GB Android Tablet to replace my Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 16GB. The $500 Samsung was just too expensive for a device I would use to mainly browse the web in my living room. After thinking about it I thought, what the heck it is cheap enough, has good specs for a tablet and folks were trying to port Android to it!!! By the time I tried getting one (2nd day after the sale) it was sold out (DUH!).



Do you have a tablet (iPad, Android, HP, other) and how do you use it?
ME>Yes I have a current generation Android tablet (Asus Transformer). I use it to surf the web in the living room away from my desktop. My kids use it a lot to play games (Sigh!).

If you have a tablet, why did you buy it (cool gadget, status, cheap, need it for xyz)?
ME>I like to try out tech gadgets. Still not sold on a tablet's real usage beyond for consuming content (e.g. web, videos, games). I like the big screen and that it is light. It is clearly a gadget that you buy because it is useful and new, but it lacks that clear application where you say that is why you get one. E.g. people buy notebooks because they need a portable computer for school/work. You buy a computer for internet, office applications, etc.

What is the right price for you to buy a tablet with similar features to the latest tablets?
ME>Till a clearer application turns up. I'd say $100-200 for reading book, surfing the web and watching videos.

The decision to sell off TouchPads at $99 and $149 whipped consumers into a frenzy, HP’s own website quickly sold out of its remaining stock, as Walmart and other major US retailers saw units fly off the shelves. In just over 24 hours, it’s reported that over 350,000 devices were bought – one Best Buy store in California telling me that they sound 140 TouchPads in an hour – recouping some of the $100 million in losses HP is predicted to incur as a result of reimbursing sales partners but also those who paid full price for the TouchPad prior to its death notice.


The computing giant is expected to issue the same order to its partners worldwide, spurring massive demand for a device, including consumers who may have never considered buying a tablet before. With the price so low, many will buy the device simply to own a “modern” tablet, even if it might not be fully supported in the future.


Ultimately, it’s a testament to what Apple has done with the iPad; it seems consumers only want to buy a tablet device if it is made by the world’s biggest technology company. However, as with any market leading product, there will be no shortage of vendors aiming to mimic what Steve Jobs and co. did with their new mobile devices, one of them being Amazon.


The world’s biggest online retailer is soon to launch its own tablet devices, but instead of competing directly on strength of software and build quality, the company is almost certainly going to utilise the business model that ensured its Kindle eader became a roaring success – undercut each one of its rivals on price and then recoup its losses with additional value-added services.

you mean the one, where I lost last 6 days of my life trying to find one, and refreshing all the sites I knew they should have it???

I myself also have an Asus Transformer - I bought it release weekend for 399.99 and later got the keyboard dock for 149.99.

I did try to buy about 10 touchpads this weekend.
All the 99$ 16GB model.
I was planning on selling some to family members. My grandpa wanted one, and my mom wanted one.
I was going to keep one for myself, then I was going to eBay the rest of them as they were selling for 285-300$ for a 99$/16gb model. Even after shipping/fees your talking 140$ profit per tablet. But all my orders got canceled. :(

I have been happy with my iPad but after looking at how cheap it was I was tempted to check it out. I have no idea the time frame in which they will be able to port over operating systems over to it like android but I think I saw some other ones were closer. In geek curiosity yeah I wanted to check it out, but otherwise it would be as useless as the netbook I got as a promotion from Best Buy that now sits unused in a poor desk drawer.

really wanted to get one but could not source one from US to my country :( .

I was so on the verge of buying a $99 16GB from Barnes and Noble when they were still available. At the last minute I decided against it since evidently HP is going to also discontinue supporting WebOS.

BUT - then I see now that a port of Android is available for the Touchpad (I think Froyo?) and that the community is working on getting a running version of Honeycomb and even possibly Ice Cream Sandwich on it in the future. Really wish I would have pulled the trigger and bought it.

I jumped on this band wagon one day late,
they were all gone.

Freu was suppose to give me one, but his order was also cancelled, tough luck i guess

I looked for one, but damned if I couldn't find one anywhere. I heard about the liquidation a little late. Pretty bummed, because the only thing that's kept me from buying a tablet computer are those steep price tags.

Heads up on the sale!! HP is bringing back the touchpad for one more limited run at the firesale price. If you missed it the first time like me get ready for the second time no word on when from HP just soon, but don't take my word for it HP Communities - More TouchPads on the Way - HP Communities. (sry if i cant post links don't really remember if i can or not, if they delete this link just go to the hp website and look under the touchpad) They will probably go as fast as the first one did if not quicker but i hear they will limit order quantities to keep the ebayers at a minimum. I wish everyone luck in the chaos that is about to follow the firesale lol.