You might have seen or heard about this thing called the HP TouchPad. It was a tablet that was introduced in July, 2011 and based on the Palm software that HP purchased a couple years back (now called WebOS). On Thursday, HP discontinued all WebOS products, then on Friday they reduced the price of the TouchPad to $99. Many bargain hunters went out of their way to get one, but you might be asking why if it got discontinued?
The TouchPad is a Tablet
Of course, this is a tablet device – Not an iPad, but a $500 tablet for $99? For most people, that is an affordable appliance. $99 is the magical price point where people buy, anything over $99 and you start to question whether you can afford it.
What you Get for $99
The HP TouchPad contains a Snapdragon processor running at dual core 1.6 GHz (iPad uses a dual core 1GHz processor). Most people have a laptop or netbook with that same speed. It has 16 GB of memory and a whole slew of cool options. The WebOS software can run flash, which was suppose to be a big sell (since iPad did not).
They also have a 32 GB model, which you could have purchased for $149. On the day of discontinuation, a white model was released and a 3G – 4G model was also expected within weeks.
Will TouchPad Get Jailbroken or Modded for Android?
This is one of the biggest anticipations for this tablet. If someone creates a way to install Android or another OS on the computer, this $99 tablet will become a great value.
WebOS is not Dead – It’s Pining.
HP announced that they are not discontinuing the WebOS platform. They just wanted to take a step back and figure this thing out.
It sounds like they want to revamp to use in a business environment. The same day, HP made the announcement that they want to spin off the HP desktop and laptop division. That means they are concerned about the consumer market.
Updates for WebOS will still be made. After all, they also have the mobile Pre II and Pre III smartphones that need regular security and software updates.
A WebOS Underground Movement?
There were a lot of companies that either focused on Palm and switched to WebOS, or were WebOS fanboys. One website is WebOS Roundup. Now that this information is released, these sites might get concerned that interest will drop as programmers might focus on other platforms. These sites might have to eventually close shop.
But they do have another option. Create an underground movement to keep the WebOS and TouchPad alive. Create hacks and continue to make programs people can install and use in WebOS.
Since HP stated the WebOS software is not dead, this might be the best way to keep interest up.
Can I Still Get a TouchPad?
It’s definitely getting harder to find, but if you watch Twitter really close, you might find a deal pop up. For example, last night, Barnes & Noble put a block of TouchPads on sale. Amazon also has been putting it on randomly. Also, once this first wave of TouchPads go out, there will most likely be extra stock that HP wants to get rid of. So check the HP site regularly.
Did you get a TouchPad? Let me know what you think – Twitter me @geekazine
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