Ever since HP’s TouchPad launched, it has clearly been the underdog in the tablet market. HP is throwing everything at consumers in an attempt to move units. Over the weekend, the company slashed the price of the tablet, bringing its cost down below iPad prices. Obviously early adopters of the device weren’t too thrilled about that revelation, so HP is giving them credit for app purchases to make it up to them.
All of HP’s moves to sell the TouchPad are reading a bit desperate. When the device first launched, the company offered a $50 rebate to anyone who bought it. For a short time they have dropped the price by $100 from those purchasing through HP’s online store or participating retailers. That brings the 16GB unit to $400 and the 32GB one down to $500. That falls well below the iPad pricing model. That $100 discount only ran for two days, from August 5 through August 7 but the $50 instant rebate is still available on the company’s site.
In an effort to quell the anger of early adopters, HP is following Nintendo’s model of giving software to those who purchased early. A credit of $50 for HP’s App Catalog will be given to anyone who purchased the system from July 1 through August 4.
Slashing prices and offering credits may not be the best way to attract customers to the WebOS platform. What HP needs is a way to bring in developers. Good apps will always sell platforms, that was Apple’s strong suit with both the iPhone and the iPad. A spokesperson for the WebOS platform said, “We currently have more than 600 TouchPad apps and more than 9,000 total apps in the webOS app catalog.” In comparison to Apple’s half a million apps and Android’s 250,000, that number looks like a drop in the bucket.
If app development doesn’t pick up on WebOS quickly then the platform may be dead in the water before the 4G version of the TouchPad even launches. Perhaps that would be for the better considering the $700 price tag that device is touting. At this point, you have to wonder if it even makes sense to try and compete with Apple or Android in the tablet space.
