Will this HP firesale hurt the Ipad

[duffer6]

Okay let me preface my statement. Huge Apple fan, with three iPhones, iPad and MBP. I did indeed buy two HP Touchpads merely out of curiosity to play with a different platform. I must say I like the TouchPad, not as nice as my IPad 2 for sure but still a nice Tablet with good functionality. Now my question:

Will people's expectation now have been changed. Is the general public going to now expect Tablets in the $200 - $300 range? Yes I do believe the WEBOS devices are dead. That is not to say that you can not enjoy a full tablet experience with the current generation of TouchPad. So when all these Touchpad tablets die due to normal wear and tear and people start looking for a supported tablet once again what price point will be acceptable to them?

Just a curious thought and want to know what you think?

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Lenovo has a $200 Android tablet with low specs. HP has a $99 tablet with high specs, but it was $400. When I get my Windows tablet, I'll expect to pay between $350 and $500. Already Apple's low end is everyone else's high end. I'm not getting a computer, I have a phone with 8gb of storage and that's more than enough to replace my iPod as well. I'll take a 7" tablet with 8gb of storage for $350 please.

Short answer: yes.

 

[OSMac]

Yes price will become an issue for Apple.

Not yet as the current Tegra 2 Android tablets are under powered,
but if Tegra 3 lives up to the hype it will change the game.


With Android tablets at $399 or less the iPad looks overpriced,
but its performance makes up for the difference.

Just today Samsung announced a amazing 7.7 tablet with a AMOLED II screen
and Lenovo announced a $199 Ideapad A1.

iPad 3 needs a retina display to compete at higher price levels.

 

[thejadedmonkey]

Also, I'd like to add that if you look, there's not really a tablet market, but an iPad market. the iPad is for everyone who wants an Apple product, but doesn't want to pay $1000.

People who want a tablet as a glorified newspaper or board-game player (like me) are probably waiting for prices to drop to $350 or less. At least that's what I'm doing. Getting a $99 HP Touchpad doesn't just hurt Apple on price, but it's one more person who won't even consider getting an iPad because by the time a touchpad is obsolite, you'll have Android and Windows 8 tablets for much less than an iPad.

 

[RossMc]

I have a feeling Amazon are going to price their tablet pretty low.

 

[duffer6]

Also, I'd like to add that if you look, there's not really a tablet market, but an iPad market. the iPad is for everyone who wants an Apple product, but doesn't want to pay $1000.

People who want a tablet as a glorified newspaper or board-game player (like me) are probably waiting for prices to drop to $350 or less. At least that's what I'm doing. Getting a $99 HP Touchpad doesn't just hurt Apple on price, but it's one more person who won't even consider getting an iPad because by the time a touchpad is obsolite, you'll have Android and Windows 8 tablets for much less than an iPad.

I have to agree with your. I think the HP debacle cheapens the space and for the uninformed makes Apple look over priced. I do believe my iPad 2 is worth every penny I paid for it but once again the TP for $99 is not a bad 2nd, 3rd or even 4th best. I think HP poisoned the well for many new tablet products.

 

[Aldaris]

Is the touchpad going to see further development and updates?

I'd say no. HP needed to unload their stock quick. This will not have and adverse effect on Apples current stance in the market.

 

[arkitect]

I wouldn't look to the HP "firesale" for change…
Wait for Amazon to release their tablet.

That could be the real game changer.

 

[siurpeeman]

I have to agree with your. I think the HP debacle cheapens the space and for the uninformed makes Apple look over priced. I do believe my iPad 2 is worth every penny I paid for it but once again the TP for $99 is not a bad 2nd, 3rd or even 4th best. I think HP poisoned the well for many new tablet products.

i disagree. i think the tablet experience is primarily rooted in the apps, and touchpad owners will quickly see that webos' app catalog is severely lacking in both quantity and quality; they'll understand why their touchpad was only $99.

 

[aristobrat]

I think the HP debacle cheapens the space and for the uninformed makes Apple look over priced.

To whom? I think the HP debacle was a quick blip that very few non-geeks were aware of. The few media soundbites I heard made it clear that the $99 tables were "discontinued models", which I think carries more of a negative stigma than "$99 firesale" price point made up for.

I wouldn't look to the HP "firesale" for change…
Wait for Amazon to release their tablet.

That could be the real game changer.

Agreed. If there's any company that will sell something at a loss (for an extended period of time) to get a market, it's Amazon.

 

[talmy]

Short term it hurts Apple because people buying the firesale HPs might have bought an iPad. But in the long term it probably help Apple because it builds the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) of buying a non-iPad.

Consider also that if the prices drop much (for Apple's competition -- Apple will never drop their prices) then the segment becomes unprofitable to all but Apple, which also helps Apple!

 

[Aldaris]

Short term it hurts Apple because people buying the firesale HPs might have bought an iPad. But in the long term it probably help Apple because it builds the FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt) of buying a non-iPad.

Consider also that if the prices drop much (for Apple's competition -- Apple will never drop their prices) then the segment becomes unprofitable to all but Apple, which also helps Apple!

Didn't Steve suggest at some point that if the iPad didn't sell they still had room to lower the price?

 

[MRU]

There's already a thread on this subject.....

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1216839/




The reduction in price of a discontinued Tablet that will likely be forgot about in a couple months time, and one where no one will get any more of them - means that whilst HP sales have sky rocketed, it has NO LONGTERM strategy, and therefore unlikely to hurt Apple or others in the long term.

When Apple show off an retina display iPad 3 in Spring 2012 - all memories of the touchpad will be long dead. People are fickle creatures at heart, and they will be clamoring to get their dirty fingers all over that 300dpi loveliness.

 

[ZZ Bottom]

I too managed to pick one up. So far I have been impressed with WebOS to the point that I now feel iOS 5 will still be lacking quite a bit.

I realize apple won't implement a central file system, but the touchpads really shows how well the concept can be executed. Also, as a frequent user in VPN networks, I really hate having to constantly exit an app to turn VPN on again; WebOS' upper right corner dropdown makes the device feel some much more efficient and thought out.

I don't think the touchpad will hurt apple nearly as much as it will hurt android tablet makers.

 

[talmy]

Didn't Steve suggest at some point that if the iPad didn't sell they still had room to lower the price?

Doesn't sound at all like the sort of thing Steve would ever say.

That sort of comment does nothing but hurt sales. (Don't buy now -- wait for the price to drop first.) Apple has always combat price erosion by adding features while maintaining the same price. As mentioned elsewhere, look for an iPad 3 with Retina Display. And expect it at $499.

 

[byke]

I am more surprised that now HP have thousands of these webos devices out there that they have given up on it.

Yes they took a hit, but now they have thousands of users out there.
It seems nuts that they got their foot in the door, only to walk away when it began to become successful.

 

[chrono1081]

Lenovo has a $200 Android tablet with low specs. HP has a $99 tablet with high specs, but it was $400. When I get my Windows tablet, I'll expect to pay between $350 and $500. Already Apple's low end is everyone else's high end. I'm not getting a computer, I have a phone with 8gb of storage and that's more than enough to replace my iPod as well. I'll take a 7" tablet with 8gb of storage for $350 please.

Short answer: yes.

Obviously we start off with the ill founded anti-apple answer of the day

To the OP, it probably will do nothing as far as hurting the iPad. First off, look at some of the tablets out there. They are higher priced than the iPad. Apple is not the most expensive in the game.

You also have to look at app ecosystems. Sure some people will buy these things for internet alone but most people are interested in what apps they can put on the devices. For a majority of devices, apps sell the device. (Would you buy a windows machine or mac machine if there were no software to run on it?)

HP is pretty much just selling out what they can to not take a huge hit on their investment. They abandoned developers of their system which is the first foot in the grave.

 

[wordoflife]

I don't think it will hurt the iPad. First off, the Touchpad is discontinued. There's not going to be any future support, no more apps, etc (for the foreseeable future).

People are still going to want iPads for what they have to offer, and how they work. Has cheaper PC laptops hurt the MacBook sales? Not really. People know what they want.

Apple products are generally a bit more expensive anyways

 

[ActionableMango]

HP firesale helps Apple in my case.

The iPad cost was too high for me to blind buy. I just wasn't sure I'd use a tablet when I already have an iPhone on me all the time. The $99 HPTP is essentially a trial run for me. It has taught me that indeed, I will use a tablet, even one with such limited use.

Now I'm in for an iPad3 on launch day. I like the HPTP, but I needs me some App Store, iTunes, and most of all Netflix.

 

[porcupine8]

I think that most people buying a cheap touchpad understand that this is a clearance price and will not impact the prices of other tablets in the long run. The fact that there's a clearance rack at the back of Old Navy doesn't make you expect them to sell everything for $5, does it?

 

[3N16MA]

I bought a TP and I don't believe this firesale will hurt Apple. It may hurt all other manufactures of Android tablets since it looks like consumers are not willing to drop $400+ on them. Amazon I believe will make everyone in the Android world wake up if the rumors are true.

 

[Gregintosh]

It will hurt Apples pricing in the long run. Already tablet manufacturers are starting to announce lower priced tablets.

The iPad at $499 was a steal at launch day and it forced other manufacturers to reconsider their plans. I remember HP had already started work on a tablet that was going to be far more expensive.

For a while now, apple has not only been the best but also the cheapest. That is why they have the whole market. Why buy a Ford when you can have the BMW for the same price?

Then tablets became slightly cheaper. Still no dice. Why get a Ford when the BMW is just 20% more? Much better product, for just a bit more cash.

Now, if android tablets fall to $199 or $249, people WILL pick them up over Apple. The iPad Market will turn into the tablet market and Apple will lose A LOT of ground, FAST and the iPad will be a niche high end product like the MacBook or the iMac, which have just a tiny slice of the market.

The new question is, why buy the BMW when the ford is 50% less?

That's enough of a price discount for consumers to accept a lower quality product.

Apple must make a choice now: keep the $499 starting point and become the niche product and lose market share or drop the iPad to say $299 or $349 and continue strong.

People talk about Amazon as capable of taking a loss and making it up in content sales. Well, Apple is even better at doing that.

I remember studies have shown that the average iPad or iPhone user spends way more on music and apps through iTunes than android or other platform users. That means Apple has the BEST chance, even better than Amazon, to pull off that strategy and make their money on the backend.

But again, Apple must decide if it's ready to stay a market share leader or if they are more comfortable with scaling back success and stay at the back of the market share line as the niche, high end version of someone else's market.

And if they continue with $499 price of admission, in a couple of years there won't be a tablet market, just an Android market with Apple far back of the line with admittedly a better product but at a luxury price. sadly, I fear this is going to happen since The Apple story pretty much invented this narrative.

 

[*LTD*]

Fire-sale prices = fire-sale quality. It's an unsustainable business model in the long term, and certainly not enough to compete with something like the iPad.

It will, however, hurt all other manufactures.

 

[Gregintosh]

Fire-sale prices = fire-sale quality. It's an unsustainable business model in the long term, and certainly not enough to compete with something like the iPad.

It will, however, hurt all other manufactures.

It hurts Apple too. Let's not pretend IPad will remain king when it costs 2x as much as competing tablets by next year.

Apple knows this too which is why when the firesale started they dropped the refurb iPad original to $299. The question is will they protect their market position by dropping prices enough on new units too or will they cede the market leader title to Google.

 

[*LTD*]

It hurts Apple too. Let's not pretend IPad will remain king when it costs 2x as much as competing tablets by next year.

Apple knows this too which is why when the firesale started they dropped the refurb iPad original to $299. The question is will they protect their market position by dropping prices enough on new units too or will they cede the market leader title to Google.

There are a lot of cheap tables already on the market that have gained no traction.

HP selling a few (still well below any decent numbers) because it's cheap is no indication of what you're claiming.