Technology Hey guys...what do?

[dilla]

http://www.precentral.net/hp-begins-touchpad-liquidation-16gb-cut-99-32gb-149-1

Might be running out to get this one. Someone's gonna figure out how to put Android on it. I'm telling my parents to get one for themselves (my dad has a birthday soon) and I plan on leaving it with them. But I think it's time someone took the leap in to the tablet market in our house. $100 is omgwtfloloololololol cheap.

 

[masta247]

That's an awesome offer. Hp seems to make a lot of bad business moves lately. By lowering the price that low and having WebOs active they'd make it one of the most popular tablet OS. Especially since the OS itself was really good, and I mean it. Only lacked apps.

 

[Flipmo]

Been thinking about getting one as well... assuming XDA find a way to root it and install Android.

 

[Flipmo]

http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1224540&page=3

It might be happening, people are willing to donate big time. lol

 

[Casey]

Why would you buy a product that's only dirt cheap because the company killed it? WebOS is still buggy as shit and they aren't continuing development on it. That hardware is nice for $99 though.

Still, if XDA can pull off getting Android on it, and they can get the Ice Cream Sandwich release fully working on it once the code comes out, it'll be more than worth it. I'm actually surprised HP bothered releasing the TouchPad when it was obvious that webOS was never going to gain any significant traction. 49 days of release it lasted before they killed it... that's one more day than the KIN! lol

 

[dilla]

I talked to a friend that is very knowledgeable on gadgets and was a huge Palm fan when they were still around. He told me an OTA update fixed a lot of the issues. Not sure if I can say it's a flawless tablet, but he said it's certainly a great tablet. Not for $400, but for $100, it is nuts. Just emailed Anand on Anandtech and he even said "I think for $99 it's a steal and worth it. There's always the risk that the homebrew community won't support it but I believe for $99 it's great."

Said friend nabbed it and the Pre2 for $99 and $49, respectively. It appears, however, that the deal is off on HP's page. Mentioned it to friend and he said that might have been the last of them.

I'm wondering if the stores will have them at that price. I hope so. I hope to get my ass out there early tomorrow and check the Targets and Best Buys and Walmarts and hope to nab one.

For a tablet that will be used solely for media and browsing, it should be ok. Also, it can access Hulu, so it's on par with Android tablets. Just a third or fourth of the price.

 

[Flipmo]

Xda are working on an Android port apparently in the thread I posted. Its on, bitches.

 

[Pittsey]

Damn. I was late. Closing my thread.

 

[Flipmo]

They sold out everywhere here in Montreal. It was supposed to go on sale today, but they were still giving em out last night. Sold out pretty much everywhere in a matter of 1-2 hrs. lol.

 

[Sebastian]

Samung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for the win.

 

[Pittsey]

My advent Vega is better than this. And cheaper. It#s the difference in price people are noticing, rather than the practicality of the thing.

 

[Casey]

/\ Exactly. It'd only be worth it if there's really a good chance of getting a working version of Android on it.

I mean, $99 for a tablet of these specs is a great deal, no doubt. But webOS just doesn't do it for me. I've played around with the Pre phone and the TouchPad in stores, and I just don't find webOS to be a particularly interesting OS. It seems quite basic and frustrating.

It looks nice, no doubt - and we all know why that is - because legendary UI designer Matias Duarte designed the UI. He's now been at Google for a year and was the main designer behind Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich.

But for me, the functionality just isn't there, and neither are the apps. I daresay I even prefer the QNX OS on the Blackberry PlayBook to webOS.

If any of you guys do get one of these though, let me know how it is.

Personally I think I'm gonna try and get a hold of an Asus Transformer 2 when they come out later this year - gonna be the first tablet with a Quad-core Kal-El processor, and Ice Cream Sandwich. That thing is gonna be a beast.

 

[Flipmo]

I think why people are rushing to pick this up is because of the hardware... 100$ is peanuts, as well as the strong possibility of an Android port makes it worth it (apparently dev teams have picked up some and are slowly working on that). WebOS is shit, but the potential is worth the price. I was thinking about picking up one myself and see what happens, but they're all gone, no biggie though. Advent Vega is more expensive here, actually the only way of ordering one is online.

That being said... I'm gonna hold out for now, as Casey said - the Asus Transformer 2 is in my sights as well.

 

[Pittsey]

I think why people are rushing to pick this up is because of the hardware... 100$ is peanuts, as well as the strong possibility of an Android port makes it worth it (apparently dev teams have picked up some and are slowly working on that). WebOS is shit, but the potential is worth the price. I was thinking about picking up one myself and see what happens, but they're all gone, no biggie though. Advent Vega is more expensive here, actually the only way of ordering one is online.

That being said... I'm gonna hold out for now, as Casey said - the Asus Transformer 2 is in my sights as well.

AS long as the screen is better than the current Transformer.

 

[masta247]

Well, how Asus fucked up with the screen on the original Transformer is beyond me. Actually they had a good IPS panel there. It's the reflective-glassy-shit that destroyed everything.

 

[dilla]

Sold out here too. The sad thing is I thought I would be able to get one in store. I had known about the deal around the time it first started late yesterday afternoon. I told my mom to get it for my dad's birthday and she agreed $99 was worth it. Should have ordered online....

My friend that did jump on it as he told me about it did get his plus a discount as well with some promo code that was floating around.


Shit. Should have ordered online.

 

[Flipmo]

I'm sure the screen on the Transformer 2 will be better. lol.

Coonie, I've heard that HP will have more in stock by Monday as many retailers are shipping them back, such as Bestbuy. Keep a look out on the on HP website.

 

[dilla]

God, I hope so.

I was outside BB before it opened up today, and two minutes before the doors opened, the dude came out and said the store would be open in two minutes, but they were not selling the TouchPads. They were going back to HP.

So I called HP (my phone+bluetooth in my car=basically an office) and made calls to different places as I was driving. Called HP up and asked the sales rep, just for the hell of it, what he thought about it. Almost a casual conversation and he got paid for it. What we though was going to happen, if HP would make more or not.

He basically told me what I was expecting. The scripted answers and "we haven't been notified of anything yet." But I fear that HP may just landfill the tablets instead of selling them at a loss, declare this as a business loss on their taxes and move on.

I hope you're right, though, Flip. It would be awesome and I will most definitely jump on it ASAP.

 

[Casey]

When Cisco decided to stop making Flip camcorders last year, rather than selling them discounted they literally threw them in the trash. Glad I opted for the Kodak Zi8 instead.

 

[dilla]

That is such coonshit.

I read something just now that talked about the pricing of tablets and how this fire sale could affect Android and Apple. How it showed that consumers were willing to pay $99 and $149 for a tablet, much more easily than $400+. Of course, not for profit, but.... maybe they should work on that. Hopefully the cost to produce goes down enough to warrant a $100 or more price decrease in the future.