Best Buy Seeing HP TouchPad Sell-Through Rate of Under 10%

[marksman]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I will buy a touchpad at 299.

One of the best marketing moves of all time was the introductory pricing for the iPad

 

[SockRolid]

Poor sell-through? Easy solution.

One word: arson.

 

[swingerofbirch]

I was just at Best Buy and there was a very small, dingy area where two TouchPads should have been. One was missing and the other one wouldn't turn on and the cord to it was frayed. I was actually curious to use it because I have heard good things about the WebOS. Not only was one missing and the other wouldn't turn on but they still had the old (higher) prices listed. The Apple area on the other hand was much cleaner looking and everything was running properly. It's probably because Apple has employees that go and check up on the Best Buy displays and don't trust Best Buy itself to run the operation entirely.

In short, at the Best Buy I was at, I can't imagine a single TouchPad getting sold based on the way they were displayed. Maybe one was stolen at least, if not sold.

 

[Keebler]

On hand, I think it's unfortunate that competition isn't proving worthy enough, but thankfully, Apple seems to keep pushing their iOS and hardware so that's fantastic.

As for the article, I wouldn't doubt the stats. I never hear of anyone using these, I've only seen a few playbooks (which were given to these people) yet I always see iPads around...everywhere I go.

As much of a FanbBoy I am, I never try to PUSH people into buying macs when they give me the "should I buy a mac or a PC". I'll tell them my success using Macs and then let them decide. If ppl are used to Windows, then so be it.

But when they ask, "Should I get the iPad or another tablet?"

I don't hesitate to push them towards the iPad and away from the other tablets. I quote articles like this all the time.

It's crazy how well the iPad is doing. Just nuts.

Cheers,
Keebler

 

[skellener]

Absolutely nothing in this article surprise me in the least.

Drop it to 249, it will still sit on shelves.

Exactly.

 

[andiwm2003]

Absolutely nothing in this article surprise me in the least.

Drop it to 249, it will still sit on shelves.

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 4_3_4 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/533.17.9 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/5.0.2 Mobile/8K2 Safari/6533.18.5)

I will buy a touchpad at 299.

One of the best marketing moves of all time was the introductory pricing for the iPad

well, I have to say they need to drop the prices of the already shipped tablets very soon. the money is lost anyway however the platform (WebOS) can be saved if they were willing to take the loss and sell them for $300. The with economy of scale and a customer base and the deveolpers they have a shot to be successful. But not as long as they sell them for iPad prices.

But of course some dump executive manager would rather destroy their business to save his yearly bonus than to drop the price.

 

[Ulf1103]

Hihi, IDK 1 point for Apple, zero for HP

(note: scale is 1 millionth )

 

[Young Spade]

not surprised. IMO, the only reason Android handsets made in roads was because:

1) they were available on non-AT&T carriers
2) promos such as BOGO
3) cheaper than iphones

...none of these conditions exist in the tablet market. as a result, non-iOS tablets are struggling. IMO.

And they have amazing hardware. It's really boiling down to a Windows/Apple thing now though. There are tons of handsets out that run 2.3 (Gingerbread) that have dual core chips in them, letting you output HD to HDTVs... anything you want. The software is very open.

From somebody who isn't a "nerd" and doesn't tinker with Android, you're (not you, just whoever) going to miss out on all of the amazing things you can do with it.

But yea, those reasons you listed were the main reasons why it got adopted so well. Now that it's the leading OS, companies are starting to stand behind it and release good hardware for it (Galaxy S 2, the Nexus 1 (first Snapdragon phone ever), The Sensation, The Evo; it's just going to get better.

 

[cere]

I only know one person with a TouchPad and he got it free at some developer meeting in Toronto. He raves about it, but when I remind him that last year he was dissing the iPad as being a joke because it was "just a big iPhone" and that his TouchPad is just a big pre, he shuts up pretty quickly. (I notice the same reaction with Android tablet users (2) that I know).

...of course, I live and work in the middle of RIM-ville, and only know one person that has a Playbook, which might be even more telling of where that device is heading.

 

[jaison13]

more power to all the tablets. i don't care who sells what. apple is selling more than enough to keep software developers happy, so i'm happy. i love my iPad more do to the apps than anything else. androids os has some nice feature that i wish my iPad had. hopefully iOS 5 will fix that. but it's all about the apps. better apps make happier customers. i can name quite a few that make iOS better than android. for me right now it's ampkit+!! if you play guitar this is a must have!! i bought all the amps and pedals so i got about $55 in it. but honestly it's better than the $300 apps on mac or pc. i'm definitely more on the creative side so i love all the drawing and music and photo apps. but i'm salivating over iPad 3!!! double the screen res is a big deal for doing art on the iPad. i'd like better cameras too. front and back and up the storage. 64gb is enough but more is better!! also iOS 5 is something i can't wait to have. better notifications, and hopefully they get al the nuance contributions in iOS 5. i don't think it will be there in iOS 5 but i hope apple gets their mapping software done soon. something better than google maps!!

i think apple is winning the war in advertising too!! iPad commercials spend the whole commercial showing what it can do. showing amazing apps. the adriond ones show a crappy google page with a poorly rendered skeleton and mention flash and apple, though not by name.

 

[MacNewsFix]

iPod:MP3 Players :: iPad:Tablets

Unless someone can break out of the "me too" pack and innovate, Apple will lockdown its marketshare here just like it did with the portable music market.

The sad thing about the current plight of the TouchPad was that it was probably one of the best executed (WebOS > Android Honeycomb) in the "iPad also-rans contest."

 

[BornAgainMac]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 5_0 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/534.46 (KHTML, like Gecko) Mobile/9A5288d)

Know what I miss?

Hardware speculation rumors. I don't see a lot of those anymore, this is becoming a news site.

Where are the wild guesses???

Every once in a awhile you will see a circuits or some wires claiming to be in some future hardware of Apple. Apple Hardware = Roswell UFO crash.

 

[shingi70]

We Kind of get it the ipad sells alot. Personally the touchpad is pretty snappy but I still only recommend the ipad, Galaxy Tab 10, and the asus Transformer.

Also where are the complaints about this being posted.Whenever we have other non apple news we get complaints but when we see something showing the competition in a non favorable light its okay.

 

[Yamcha]

That's too bad, I think the HP Touchpad provides a much better experience then Android. Every Android tablet I see has some issues with lag, even with things like pinch to zoom, It's not fluid like what you'd find on an iPad.. I've tried the HP Touchpad, and although it does suffer from slight lag, it's a lot better then any Android device, and the multi-tasking is probably the best out there..

Still I guess the lack of apps is a major issue, I've also found application loading times to be pretty slow on the Touchpad, but if they could fix that I think it'd be a great alternative to an iPad..

At the end of it all though, It's clear that the iPad provides the best overall experience, its a lot faster then anything out there.. My iPad 1 still easily more responsive then an HP Touchpad, even though the touchpad has much higher specs..

 

[blackpond]

But wait a second... I thought it had Flash, right? Why the low sales?

Actually I sort of like WebOS... so this is a little sad.

 

[WannaGoMac]

I was just at Best Buy and there was a very small, dingy area where two TouchPads should have been. One was missing and the other one wouldn't turn on and the cord to it was frayed. I was actually curious to use it because I have heard good things about the WebOS. Not only was one missing and the other wouldn't turn on but they still had the old (higher) prices listed. The Apple area on the other hand was much cleaner looking and everything was running properly. It's probably because Apple has employees that go and check up on the Best Buy displays and don't trust Best Buy itself to run the operation entirely.

In short, at the Best Buy I was at, I can't imagine a single TouchPad getting sold based on the way they were displayed. Maybe one was stolen at least, if not sold.

Had exact same experience at Staples when I was thinking of picking up one for $299. They couldn't even get the tablet working -- for that matter all the tablets weren't functional.

 

[linux2mac]

the iPad is just snappier, it "just works"

I haven't seen 1 other tablet computer be nearly as snappy and efficient at what it does than the iPad

Same here. The iPad copy cats remain "flummoxed."

 

[MacNewsFix]

But wait a second... I thought it had Flash, right? Why the low sales?

Actually I sort of like WebOS... so this is a little sad.

+1. Could not agree more on both points.

 

[deellow]

HP was the worst possible company to buy Palm and expect to do something innovative in the consumer space. There are lot of good things about webOS and even the TouchPad, but buying a HP TouchPad would be like getting tongue from your grandmother...they just aren't right together.

Apple could have snapped them up and gained their massive patent portfolio. Heck, RIM could have taken them and merged the strengths of RIM and the BB with the sexiness of webOS. Instead, grandma tongue.

Simply, awesomely well put.

 

[benjaminleroux]

I have both the ipad2 and Touchpad. Truth be told, the ipad does have much better app selection. But the HP store is growing... and were already seeing some of the big name developpers porting their apps to webOS.

As for the sluggyness, it's true that the demo units in store are disasters.. and you can only blame HP for this as they should make sure all their demos are upgraded to the new OS and sales people arent ignorent about the product.

As for me, after the upgrade to 3.0.2 and overclocking it to 1.7 Ghz, it flyes... I event got ubuntu running very smooth on it as an app... crazy stuff.

Gave my ipad 2 to my wife...

 

[non-prophet]

WebOS no match for iOS

These are just my very random (or, maybe, not-so-random) thoughts on the HP Tablet after spending about 10 hours with a 32GB model.

HP shoots well with their WebOS, but misses the bullseye often. The features are different enough from the iOS that I suspect they will never see a patent infringement lawsuit from Apple, and this is good news and less than good news.

- Just Type: I believe the marketing of this totally missed it. HP put the search function on the home screen, which is fine, and then promotes this feature heavily as if it were some innovation. Apple has offered a Spotlight search feature since the original iPhone. Nothing new with the WebOS version. Functionality: Ok. But still a MISS for the marketing.

- Muliti-tasking: Ok, the card concept is sort of cool, and the stacks seems like a good idea, but I believe that most people (me included) just won't "get it". I cannot see a benefit to stacking minimized open application icons (or cards) to group them together. But the multitasking a sort of cool. I listened to Pandora while I was playing a game. Hmm. MISS.

- HP Synergy and Touch To Share: Sorry. I probably don't want everything I know about every one of my Facebook friends on my tablet. And Apple already allows you to access your various email accounts - with your contacts stored in the Cloud. And, with apologies to HP, who would want a Pre3 when you can have an iPhone? While Touch To Share is a sort of cool concept ... MISS

- The WebOS is rocky. The device I used locked up (froze) many times while I was using it, and late in my time with the tablet I started getting the dreaded, and very intrusive, Database Error message. Looking that up online I saw that the solution seemed to be to re-initialize the drive and all data, apps, etc. This scared the hell out of me. Even at $100 off, I want the thing to work. BIG MISS.

- Weight and Size: about the same as the iPad 1. Hmm. Apple made the new iPad slimmer and lighter because they could, but that development was done for a reason. Slimmer and lighter are better. NEAR MISS.

- APPS: this is perhaps the biggest problem with the Touchpad. Nobody at HP could tell me how many apps were available and the unit I was working with did not have and HP Store account associated with it, so I could not see the apps. But looking online it appears that HP stated that there were about 300 apps on the day of release, with more expected. Are you developing for WebOS? Probably not. BIG, HUGE, DEADLY MISS.

 

[igazza]

I like WebOS, I wish it could run on the galaxy tab hardware

 

[SockRolid]

Apple leverages all of their experience

One of the best marketing moves of all time was the introductory pricing for the iPad

Agree. And Apple couldn't have shipped iPad at such a low price (while still maintaining a large profit margin) without great component pricing. For example, Apple gets the best deals on NAND memory because they're the world's largest consumer of that product. Which they achieved in large part because of iPod's dominance of the portable media player market. Which they achieved in large part because of iTunes' ease of use. And ease of use is one of Apple's engineering directives.

Apple also learned from the Mac vs. PC war. Apple historically shipped the best products at higher prices. Mac purchase prices are still higher than equivalent PCs, but the gap is decreasing. And Macs require less maintenance and last years longer, so total cost of ownership is lower.

This time around, in the post-PC era, Apple is doing the opposite. They are shipping the best product for at a lower price. iPad is less expensive than many competing products. Competing pads that are sold at the same or lower prices are probably generating an unsustainably low profit margin for their manufacturers.

Apple's would-be iPad competitors are running the same race to the bottom that resulted in netbooks a few years ago. They're lowballing each other's prices, as we all expected. But there's a huge difference this time. In the PC market, the generic cloners are fighting over a vast slice of the PC market pie. In the iPad clone market, the generic cloners are fighting over a few crumbs. It's just a matter of time before many of them starve to death.

I will buy a touchpad at 299.

You should keep it in its original shrink wrap. More collector value.

 

[shingi70]

These are just my very random (or, maybe, not-so-random) thoughts on the HP Tablet after spending about 10 hours with a 32GB model.

HP shoots well with their WebOS, but misses the bullseye often. The features are different enough from the iOS that I suspect they will never see a patent infringement lawsuit from Apple, and this is good news and less than good news.

- Just Type: I believe the marketing of this totally missed it. HP put the search function on the home screen, which is fine, and then promotes this feature heavily as if it were some innovation. Apple has offered a Spotlight search feature since the original iPhone. Nothing new with the WebOS version. Functionality: Ok. But still a MISS for the marketing.

- Muliti-tasking: Ok, the card concept is sort of cool, and the stacks seems like a good idea, but I believe that most people (me included) just won't "get it". I cannot see a benefit to stacking minimized open application icons (or cards) to group them together. But the multitasking a sort of cool. I listened to Pandora while I was playing a game. Hmm. MISS.

- HP Synergy and Touch To Share: Sorry. I probably don't want everything I know about every one of my Facebook friends on my tablet. And Apple already allows you to access your various email accounts - with your contacts stored in the Cloud. And, with apologies to HP, who would want a Pre3 when you can have an iPhone? While Touch To Share is a sort of cool concept ... MISS

- The WebOS is rocky. The device I used locked up (froze) many times while I was using it, and late in my time with the tablet I started getting the dreaded, and very intrusive, Database Error message. Looking that up online I saw that the solution seemed to be to re-initialize the drive and all data, apps, etc. This scared the hell out of me. Even at $100 off, I want the thing to work. BIG MISS.

- Weight and Size: about the same as the iPad 1. Hmm. Apple made the new iPad slimmer and lighter because they could, but that development was done for a reason. Slimmer and lighter are better. NEAR MISS.

- APPS: this is perhaps the biggest problem with the Touchpad. Nobody at HP could tell me how many apps were available and the unit I was working with did not have and HP Store account associated with it, so I could not see the apps. But looking online it appears that HP stated that there were about 300 apps on the day of release, with more expected. Are you developing for WebOS? Probably not. BIG, HUGE, DEADLY MISS.

Hope this is helpful.

Thats a little foot in the mouth

1) just type is pretty cool but can't you do the same thing with universal serach on android and ios.

2)The Stacks are good you won't have 1000 separate cards open. I could have 20 cards open and stack them based on needs. If im using my tablet for work I could have all my work cards stacked up so instead of running through cards just look up a stack.

3) if you like web os you'd get the Pre 3 simple as that. One is neither better than the other its all personal preference. I like how i can sync the Pre3 with the Touchpad so i can take/and make calls and texts from the touchpad.

4) Have to agree with the weight and lack of camera. Samsung went back to the drawing board in a month and came out with great hardware HP should have did the same.

5) they will come as HP isn't afraid to throw money until they come. The app support make not be as big and grow as fast as ios and android but its coming. Any Dev would be stupid not to release on all platforms and limit their userbase.

 

[Renverse]

I hope that at least 1 tablet manages to give the iPad some competition, it would encourage Apple to be even more inventive.

I believe that Android has had a great effect on iOS, now that Apple's seen that it's spreading like a disease, and iOS5 is clearly proof of Apple innovating to keep Android at bay.

Honeycomb's not impressed me (or any consumers, if you look at sales) yet, Windows 8 isn't coming until 2012, until then, it seems like it will be the year of the iPad.