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Despite what many pundits and HP are saying, desktop and laptop computers are not going away any time soon. Tablets and mobile devices are the latest gadgets people want now, but the novelty will soon fade as it has for lots of new devices. The have limited functionality and usefulness, and they cost more than many laptops. If HP thinks big businesses are going to look to them for products and services with their track record, they can think again. They are unlikely to become another IBM.
Another good article about what the HP fire sale might mean for the market:
http://www.pcworld.com/businesscente...t_success.html
Quote:
But, what the HP TouchPad fire sale demonstrated is that a tablet vendor can create a stampede by offering the device at $99. Samsung, HTC, Motorola, RIM, and other tablet vendors should be paying close attention to the whole TouchPad debacle, and see the opportunity it represents.
iPad 2 competitors don't have to cut prices permanently, but an initial push at $99 would work to get a tablet off the shelf and into the hands of hundreds of thousands of users. The vendor can take a short-term loss on the first couple hundred thousand units just to build a base and make a dent, then return to more normal pricing.
ZDnet.UK is announcing the fire sale has reached the UKQuote:
Originally Posted by SuperSparks
http://www.zdnet.co.uk/blogs/mixed-s...s-uk-10024174/
Lot of us can not read what is on those small screens. A laptop is bad enough and a 19 inch monitor or larger is just fine. Guess what will not disappear.
I have a laptop and a netbook and (hopefully) a tablet on the way....and I still do 99% of my puting on desktops. Long live the desktop! :D
HP's Canadian site and phone lines are still down. Realistically I no longer have any hope of getting one but I'll try one more time later today and tomorrow and then leave the aggro behind me.
Best Buy really screwed this up. First they said they were not selling them and would send them back to HP, so HP inventory "appeared" large. Then BB said they would sell them, but not online. Now HP doesn't have a clue just how many they have now which explains why my order is not being processed. When the dust settles, I hope I get one......
This reminds me of the Xmas scrambles for Cabbage patch Kids and Tickle Me Elmo dolls. I laughed at those people trying to get one. Stupid me went and did the same thing essentially. :D
BTW...last I heard is that 350,000 pads got sold over the weekend...but nobody seems to know how many actually exist and HP aint talking.
Bad business practice on HP's part to add numbers to inventory before they actually received the units. Questionable business practice on BB's part to change their minds.
This certainly wasn't handled well and lends credence to the idea that HP is not being run well overall. And if HP's defense is, "we didn't anticipate this response"....then how do they go to big business and say, "let us solve all your problems"for you?
You wouldn't hire a mechanic who can't get his own car running....right? :D
The message currently running at the HP small business site where I got my order in:
Quote:
Thank you for your interest in the HP TouchPad
HP Small and Medium Business Customers
We have received unprecedented orders as a result of the tremendous discount offered. This is clear confirmation to HP there is huge interest in building a webOS community. We apologize for any difficulty you may have had in ordering on the web or through the phone this weekend; it was as a result of selling out of our current inventory.
Your order has been captured and you should receive a confirmation over the next 48 hours.
Additionally, some of our customers may have experienced a pricing error while purchasing on August 20th and 21st. We are in the process of ensuring every order is honored at the discounted price and will send you confirmation via email.
Should you have any questions, we can be contacted at 1 800 888 5858 option 1: Though we are expecting significant call volumes with extended wait times over the next 48 hours, we ask for your patience and we are committed to our relationship with you and to delivering the best technology solutions for you and your business.
Sincerely,
Your HP Small and Medium Business Team
A glimmer of hope..
there's a local company that I found by doing some google searching that has a few dozens of them in stock. The salesman said he can't sell them until tomorrow morning because he hasn't got official pricing yet from head office. He said he'd call me tomorrow am to take my order once they become available.. but he said lots of people (no kidding) have been looking so he can't guarantee anything.
Still, it's the closest I've come yet.
Free 50GB of data storage to go with that HP tablet:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-new...03?tag=nl.e550
I'll be happy with just getting the pad....but I aint proud and will take the bonus too. :D
I bet HP didn't check with Box.net before running this fire sale....LOL
I posted this in the other Touchpad thread...
Here's a tip I picked up while roaming around the tech sites for inside info on the Touchpad sale.
One person suggested this.
1. Make sure you have the Firefox addon called check4change.
2. Go to the HP Touchpad Sales site and open up a seperate tab for it.
3. Highlite the area where it says "Out of stock" and right-click....then activate the check4change timer for that line of text. Leave the tab open all day.
4. Supposedly, the add-on will constantly check that page for changes and when the "out of stock" message goes away. FF will notify you so you can run in an order quick. Custom settings have an audio notification too.
Or so the theory goes. I have never used that FF add-on, so I can't confirm how it works. I have been manually reloading that page every hour or so, though. ;)
Latest rumor report....
1. People like me that went through HP small business website may be out of luck. They work with a seperate inventory from the rest of HP and they are not getting more in. Every minute that goes by without a shipping confirmation means a higher possibility of cancellation. They will not draw from other divisions. I didn't get the email yet. :(
2. HP Home website may be restocking and starting sales again by Wednesday. Registration at HP Home using HP Small Business customer ID does not work. I tried. You need another account.
3. Customers at slick deals are comparing order numbers and the shipping is NOT proceeding on a first come, first serve order for some reason, but rather choice of shipping. People that ordered Sunday are getting theirs, while people who ordered Saturday are still waiting. That's just wrong....
4. HP's "order status" service crashed at least once...
Again....just rumors at this point....but this is no way to run a railroad....
Well, looks like I'm not going to get one. Can't say that it breaks my heart though since over the last couple of days I've found more and more articles on what it can and can't do and the can'ts were winning.
One of the main things I'd wanted it for was to watch streaming videos.. live events mostly and sports in particular but I can't find a single app or user that suggests it's even remotely capable of that. It is pretty limited in playing any kind of video in fact and the proprietary video/streaming program is aimed almost entirely at US tv series and movies.. most of which, from my experience, will not play in Canada due to copyright issues.
Not looking good here either. Nothing but bad news coming out from HP on orders not filled yet (that would be me). Oh well....guess I saved a hundred bucks. But this is the only way I will buy a tablet/pad....I still like my netbook for mobility purposes and the tablets are just too expensive.
Now.....would be nice for HP to release the authorized hold on my debit card, seeing as how they aren't selling me anything.
Wonder when they will start discounting laptops and netbooks? ;)
Oh-oh....another reprieve from the governor. Supposed telephone recording from HP Small Business:
My headache is coming back.....Quote:
"If you placed the order before August 22 2011 4 AM CDT you will get the touchpad with discounted price and Free Shipping and will receive an email with the tracking number. If you ordered a Touchpad after that your orders will be cancelled. "
Quote:
Originally Posted by Train
Exactly .... and I don't do much mobile computing. If I'm out and about ... I'm out and about ... not out on my computer lol.
I don't even text all that much. Maybe 10 a month .. if that.
I do like the thought of having a Pad or laptop to move around the house with and not be stuck in my chair .. but I will never NOT want my desktop. I love her to pieces :D .... and her 24 inch screen :D
My backorder for the $99 HP TP was cancelled by Office Depot...we regret to inform you...oh well.
The HP Home site has switched from saying "out of stock" to "coming soon". Get ready for round two of the fire sale:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/sh...touchpads_home
Talked with an HP customer rep. She says my order is still being processed and doesn't appear to be in jeopardy of cancellation....but could take a long time to fill (days/weeks). I ordered last Saturday. :eek:
I am back to being hopeful..... ;)
Latest rumors say Best Buy may have them....but not online....walk-ins only. And they are not advertising. When they do come in, they don't last long....minutes to an hour. Your best bet is to know someone who works in the store to give you phone call on the sly, but Best Buy is disciplining any employee that "sets aside" the Touchpad for themselves or friends.
HP has changed their "coming soon" message back to "out of stock" on their sales site. This could mean that they are further behind than they thought...or don't have as many as they thought. I know some people on another forum that ordered last Friday and are only now getting shipping confirmations.
The wildest rumor yet? HP may start assembling more units from remaining parts inventory to fill back orders. I find that one a bit tough to swallow.....but who knows.
More updates and info:
onSale and B&N cancel HP TouchPad orders in continuing saga of a dead tablet
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-gad...35?tag=nl.e539
Acer CEO Wang bets on ultrabooks trump tablets: A prescient or nutty bet?
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/acer-c...20?tag=nl.e539
Yeah....there is a petition of sorts amongst Amazon buyers to have OnSale removed from Amazon's list of vendors. Amazon is supposedly investigating onSale to see if they knowingly oversold, or if it was a legitimate stock error. Amazon buyers are hostile since they all quit trying elsewhere when Amazon/onSale told them they had gotten a Touchpad when in fact they did not.
Erwin Computers is also taking a beating for overselling the Touchpad.....then not taking calls or answering emails for 48 hours after the fact. One of my orders was with them....cancelled now.
What a fiasco.
If part of HP's strategy in selling all those touchpads so cheaply was to get new long term customers it's one big fail so far.
That's right, fink....it's a fiasco to be sure. I got in....so I am staying in, but had I known how frustrating this was going to be, I would have gone with my original thinking of, "what the hell do I need this tablet for.....at any price?"
I was really hoping to get two to have as gifts for my nephews at Xmas. But I can't give one a Touchpad and give the other socks and a sweatshirt....LOL :D
As it is....I might have no Touchpad coming and everyone gets socks..... :D
I hope you get it ;) both of them.
But on a serious note what will happen if something goes wrong with it? Does it come with a warranty or is HP washing there hands of them? What if you have support issues... will they still help or are you going to be completely on your own with this?
I'm just asking because I might try to get in on it if at all possible .. but if there is no support or ability to upgrade I'm not so sure I would want go through the agony you are to get one Maxx lol :D
Well...it's a discontinued item, so there won't be support. That's the chance you take. If you have problems down the road, you could be screwed. I have heard that the usual 1-year HP warranty will apply if the thing is DOA or dies shortly thereafter, but with no new units being made....refund is the only option.
Software updates for WebOS are also iffy. Unless someone takes over on that...no updates beyond what is already up on the net. However, work is proceeding to port Android over....which might be cool.....and rumors that Linux people are also working on getting something like Ubuntu working on the pad.
Under these conditions....the thing really is only worth $99. Still....it's original price was $499 for the 16 GB version. Bargain is a bargain. ;)
Thanks Maxx ... well if they still have any floating around next week I'll see if I can grab one .. but I have a feeling that ain't gonna happen lol .. but we will see :)
HP now backtracking on their 4 AM Monday deadline assurance. They are making no guarantees now to anyone. From HP:
OK....that little bit of hope I had is vanishing now.Quote:
For orders placed after 4am CT on Monday 22nd August, US SMB had already Sold Out of HP TouchPad and had posted this on our SMB webstore. Due to this overwhelming response to webOS, we are unable to fulfill these orders and they have been cancelled. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card, no actual charges have been made and this reserve hold will be released now that the order has been cancelled.
If you placed an order prior to 4am CT Monday, August 22, we are working through the large volume of orders, verifying payment details and seeking to source inventory for fulfillment. This process is taking longer than first anticipated. At this time, we cannot guarantee supply to all these orders but are working to supply as many orders as possible. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card and your order cannot be fulfilled, no actual charges have been made, and this reserve hold will be released if the order is cancelled.
Latest rumor attributed to un-named source at HP described as "top executive at HP"
HP plans to have 4 million units over the coming weeks. 3 million of those units are allocated to cover back-orders from August 21st and before (that's me). The remaining units are scheduled for a second round of sales on September 19th at the HP home and home office site only....not the small business site.
This totally contradicts the most recent public message issued by HP that no order is guaranteed on the back-order list....so take it for what it is worth.
The previous rumor supposedly by an HP executive was never confirmed, so the site where it was posted is not really standing by it anymore. No surprise there....it sounded shady...
On the other hand...I called HP again and the girl says my order could ship this week. I have heard that before, but at least I am still in the running. The HP website still says there is a potential for another round of sales, but they have shut down their email notification sign-up site now. HP rep says the warehouses are empty now, and they are now shipping touchpads that just came off the assembly line and are just now being boxed.
No other tips on retailers at this time except for those Ebay scalpers that bought dozens of the things to rake buyers over the coals at twice the price. One off-the-wall rumor worth mentioning....Best Buy is sitting on thousands of the pads to be sold as part of their big Labor Day sale.
Does anybody know how many HP produced? It seems like hundreds of thousands.
Nobody knows....but Best Buy alone handled over 200,000. HP sold even more through HP Direct and there are countless other retail outlets. If I had to guess....it has to be over a million.
But by comparison, Apple claims to have sold a half million on their very first day of iPad2 sales....while Touchpad has been out for a couple months with the vast majority of the grabs during the fire sale last weekend.
Your best bet at this point is HP Home and Home Office website. If more are to be sold....that is likely where it will happen and it will be fast.
6 more free apps for your HP TouchPad
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/mobile-new...74?tag=nl.e550
Also, it is rumored that Samsung may buy WebOS.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cell-phone...91?tag=nl.e539
http://www.zdnet.com/news/apple-sams...77?tag=nl.e550
http://www.google.com/search?q=Samsu...&aqi=&aql=&oq=
Interesting. Wonder if Samsung would gimp any potential new apps to not run on the HP touchpad?
Of course at this point, I will be happy just to get one. :D
I called HP Canada this afternoon to see if they were going to be restocking touchpads but even before I got to speak with a human the recording told me, after letting me know my wait will be approximately 30-40 minutes, that they are completely sold out of touchpads. No big surprise LOL, but I was going to ask if they were going to restock.
Wasn't worth the projected wait time to find out esp with the very likely answer being no.
There's been a great deal of discussion at another forum about the Ebay scalpers. Had HP decided early on to allow one per customer, there would be plenty of these things for people that wanted one....to get one. They didn't initiate the one-per-person rule until it was too late. This sale was an Ebay scalper's dream. They are still selling them for $200-250 US.
One guy came in and posted a picture of his car trunk full of them....just to gloat. I snagged the disgusting image:
More info and speculation:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TECH/mobile/...html?hpt=hp_c2