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HP TouchPad Go: $99?
redletterdave writes "The HP TouchPad Go, which is a smaller version of the company's signature TouchPad, may go on sale for $99 like its predecessor. The tablet features a 1023 x 768 resolution display, runs on webOS, and also has a removable cover with soft-touch coating to minimize fingerprints on the 7-inch screen. HP's new tablet also comes with a removable battery, 32GB of storage, a 3G radio, a five-megapixel camera and LED flash. HP designed the TouchPad Go around the same time as the larger model, but it failed to reach production stages when the company decided to kill off all devices running on the doomed webOS. If the tablet indeed sells for $99, it would be the cheapest tablet in the world besides the Aakash tablet, which was released by the Indian government for $35."
I'm still annoyed I missed the fire sale on the 'full size' model.
I have one of the firesale Touchpads. I think it is a great product. I mean how many Apple or Android tablets let you run vanilla debian? I'd get the Go in a heartbeat.
Such a good price/performance tablet was LONG overdue.
i wasnt gonna buy a tablet, but, i can buy this without any considerations that it will be a waste.
Read radical news here
Only a handful of these are known to exist and as far as anyone knows they never went past pre-production models. There is no warehouse full of them to get rid of in the first place, which is what the original HP Touchpad sale was about. HP's also not about to start making them, especially not to sell at a loss.
The sheer nerve.
There are plenty of very low-end chinese tablets that are under $99. They're typically terribly slow, but you can get them.
For every problem, there is at least one solution that is simple, neat, and wrong.
A story speculating that devices may or may not exist that HP may or may not sell at a price which might or might not be $99, without so much as a hint that there is evidence suggesting they ever actually *made* any production-level product beyond pre-release testing and evaluation units. Given the Touchpad Go's schedule probably wouldn't have had it in mass production at the time HP killed the product line, it seems unlikely that they would have gone forward with production, unless their supply chain already had them over a barrel (which was allegedly the cause of the second wave of firesale, the third being to flush out returns). The problem is any thinking right now is merely speculation.
I'd probably take the plunge and get it if offered just for a WebOS device to play with (I have a few Palm Pres, but it's hard to justify playing with them when my Android phone has much better hardware in every way (bigger, higher resolution screen, faster processors, 4 times the ram, a camera that actually focuses, etc) and actually has support for things like Netflix.
XML is like violence. If it doesn't solve the problem, use more.
trademarks expire if not used.
Do you even lift?
These aren't the 'roids you're looking for.
1023x768??? This a really good plan.
You are lucky, Ed Gruberman. Few novices experience so much of Ti Kwan Leep so soon.
TL;DR: "There was going to be a TouchPad Go, but it never got produced. Film at 11."
... the fact that this tablet will never see the light of day puts a rather large damper on the party.
P.S. The only one of these ever sold was on eBay a month or so ago for over $700
Get over yourself.
They had to cut something to get it down to a hundred bucks.
Such a good price/performance tablet was LONG overdue.
Yeah it's amazing what a company can do when it doesn't factor in what it costs to manufacture a product but is simply trying to clear out inventory.
But if you're implying this would be a sustainable business model - you're delusional.
#DeleteChrome
1023x768??? This a really good plan.
Come on, you wonder why this is the only tablet that can be sold for $100? It's the extra pixel that makes all the difference. The guy who owns the patent on pixel 1024 has been licensing it at an obscene markup to manufactures, it's good to see someone finally put a foot down and stop the madness.
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
I don't see why HP should not revive the TouchPad Go (renamed to TouchPad 2, the other one renamed to Touch Pad Classic). There's a market out there, and they can make money other than on the hardware; (licensed) peripherals, App Catalog sales, there's already a Kindle app, perhaps also introduce a Nook Reader app and get a percentage of sales through that from B&N. Wouldn't that be cool, Kindle and Nook on one device?
Disclosure: I have a WiFi-only (= no GPS) TouchPad (32GB, $149) and use it as an e-reader about 75% of the time; unfortunately I have to convert everything to pdf as I haven't taken the time yet to use the alternate installer (for which I believe there is a proper reader that handles epub, etc.).
Somehow you truly believe selling a tablet at a price point that's hundreds of dollars below the manufacturing cost is a sustainable business model. Tell me, how much have YOU spent on extra apps, peripherals, etc. for the TouchPad you own? And, if you've bought peripherals - do you believe they cost nothing to manufacture?
I really don't get how some of you can be so disconnected from reality.
#DeleteChrome
If it can run ICS or Honeycomb and has both WiFi and Bluetooth, I'll buy one even at $250. I want an Android tablet for one purpose: to run Torque via an ODB-II adapter.
The Christian Right is Neither (Christian nor right). See: Matthew 23, Matthew 25, Ezekiel 16:48-50
Were they afraid Apple would sue them for 1024?
1023, really? I'm betting it's 1024x768, but that's from the article -- worth a [sic] IMO, but I'll let it go.
As the article says, "many wonder" if it will be firesaled for $99, but there's no new reason to suppose any significant stock exists; it remains the same baseless speculation it's been for months.
And as for second-cheapest tablet, a dozen cheaper ones beg to differ.
I like the tablet and this is good news, but
Oh hey and you can do that on both the Kindle Fire, Nook Color and Nook Tablet for $199-249 by sideloading apps or on the Kindle Fire by just downloading it from a direct link. Amazing how they can do that for half the price...
I think the problem is everyone is dreaming of iMoney and thus making them overpowered and thus expensive. I mean think about it, what does the typical consumer do with a pad? They check their email, play Angry birds, and watch video. Now the video could be easily taken care of with a broadcom chip which is cheap, especially when you are buying in bulk, I doubt Angry birds is that big of a CPU hog, and email and webpages aren't gonna need much if you disallow flash support.
So I don't see why someone couldn't make a really nice tablet in the $180-$200 price range and make around $10-$15 a unit on them. A dualcore ARM CPU in the 1GHz range isn't that high and resistive will work fine for the screen as long as the OS is tweaked for it instead of just using a vanilla OS unoptimized for the platform like many are doing with android now. So while $100 might not be doable I don't see why sub $200 while still doing the tasks folks want a tablet for couldn't be achieved.
Personally i thought Dell had the right idea with that convertible netbook/tablet but screwed up with the choice of chip and the price which was too high for an atom based unit. Make it an AMD E-50 so it has enough power to do 1080P over HDMI, it'll also play games and even let them run their Windows programs, and price it for around $350 and the things would sell like hotcakes. Sadly american companies have all looked at Apple and see iMoney and frankly just won't accept 5%-8% profits on sales anymore as they all want to be Apple and make mounds of iCash anymore. But there is only one Apple and if this past year and a half has proved anything its that if you set your price equal or better than the iPad people will go with the more recognized brand. But if they were to target the masses with a machine that's "good enough" at the right price point there isn't any reason they can't make good steady profits year after year.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
Someone is missing 768 pixels.
It's designed as a 1024 pixel display - but if they only spec it as 1023, then they don't have to warranty it for one bad pixel.
Note they didn't spec 1023 x 768 *contiguous* pixels.
That's entirely true. Almost no-one is on such slow connections. To transfer an entire byte on a 30mbit/sec connection, you'd need over 4 seconds.
I think the problem is everyone is dreaming of iMoney and thus making them overpowered and thus expensive. I mean think about it, what does the typical consumer do with a pad? They check their email, play Angry birds, and watch video. Now the video could be easily taken care of with a broadcom chip which is cheap, especially when you are buying in bulk, I doubt Angry birds is that big of a CPU hog, and email and webpages aren't gonna need much if you disallow flash support.
So I don't see why someone couldn't make a really nice tablet in the $180-$200 price range and make around $10-$15 a unit on them. A dualcore ARM CPU in the 1GHz range isn't that high and resistive will work fine for the screen as long as the OS is tweaked for it instead of just using a vanilla OS unoptimized for the platform like many are doing with android now. So while $100 might not be doable I don't see why sub $200 while still doing the tasks folks want a tablet for couldn't be achieved.
I believe there is something like this already. It's called the Amazon Kindle. Oh, and by the way it's most likely sold at loss.
"To prevent this day from getting any worse, I'll just read ERROR as GOOD THING" 1GJU8xLuDKDxEs4KLf8fAGyptoDsqvEsBT
The Kindle was NEVER made to make money on the unit, it was clear from the start Amazon was going for the razor and blades model because they make out like a damned bandit on Ebooks. If one wanted to go that route with a tablet one clearly could but i believe that by shopping around and doing as Cook did (which i give that man credit, it was a brilliant move) and locking in chips at a set price point one could easily make a profitable sub $200 tablet with decent performance. i mean Asus was selling E-350 12 inch EEEs for just $300 before the flood and making money on every single unit so I don't see why changing the screen to resistive would raise the price above $350 while keeping the same profit margins. BTW the EEE series now comes with Expressgate built in which actually has a nice appstore and ebook sales and reader so i have no doubt Asus is not only making profits on the unit but on sale of games and books as well.
In the end though American companies are just too greedy. Look at Lenovo which has made money year after year on the business IBM threw away, or how the last CEO of HP wanted to get rid of the #1 selling PC division because it was making "only" 7% profits. If you are moving a hell of a lot of merchandise that 7% profit can still be a seriously fat number and even on smaller sales you are making a good steady income. But just as so many companies destroyed themselves in the 70s by ignoring good markets to try to beat IBM at its own game so too are companies lining up to shoot themselves in the head dreaming of iMoney just like all these idiot game publishers that try to beat Warcraft and end up going tits up. In the end there can only be one Apple and they have spent 30 years building themselves up to be the Prada of home electronics and I don't care how good the specs are competing with Apple at the same price point is suicide. to use a /. car analogy it would be like Ford thinking they could compete with Ferrari by putting out a souped up Mustang at the Ferrari price point. Stupid is as stupid does I suppose and its pretty clear that if any of the HP board had an original thought they would probably have their head explode.
ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
^ This.
I fail to see how a tablet can't be a lot cheaper than a netbook:
- Capacity touchscreen instead of keyboard
- simple case instead of clamshell
- Cheaper ARM CPU instead of Atom
- smaller battery
- No OS license
That should easily amount to $50 less than a netbook.
thegodmovie.com - watch it
Imagine how cheaply they can buy the screens with up to 768 defective pixels.
thegodmovie.com - watch it
iPad = a rock? Well, if you put it that way, I have to agree!
Ya doofy n00b, there's nothing Android about the Touchpads. Did you miss the... and the part about the...? And the big firesale... and then the open...? (*sigh*)...
Yeah, I guess you did.
Do ya live under that rock^h^h^h^hiPad?
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee....
I think not...(*poof*)
GO was the name of their OS. EO was the name of the hardware.
Simple.
"- Capacity touchscreen instead of keyboard"
A capitative touchscreen costs more than a keyboard.
"- simple case instead of clamshell"
In volumen the case is about $5 for one and $3 for the other. The molds are expensive and frankly making a good tablet case is harder than a clamshell netbook because it is expected to be a lot thinner and just as strong.
"- Cheaper ARM CPU instead of Atom"
Probably. I have no idea what OEM pricing on Atom is but I bet it is pretty dang cheap.
"- smaller battery"
But for a tablet you will use LiPoly while a netbook may use cheaper Li-ION batteries. The cost may actually be lower for the Netbook.
"- No OS license"
Well yes but that my actually add to the cost. Installing craplets like those trial virus checkers actually bring the price of windows down to 0 or lower for a lot of OEMs. Why do you think they put those one?
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
So because it's open source and has more apps, everything else has to die? I have an n900 with maemo, it rules. I can't stand android. It makes me feel like I'm using a microwave. Maemo feels like a computer. That fits in my pocket.
I can also just copy source from my computer and build them on my phone/tablet without issues, and have them run natively without having to "port" them.
But to each his own; I see no point in KILLING stuff that's different; it's healthy. I totally disagree with your point. WHY should they kill WebOS and support Android? Are you saying monopoly is good? Just because of a few superficial features?