In August, HP decided to no longer produce its webOS-based TouchPad tablet thanks to poor sales. But a funny thing happened after that move was made. HP cut the price of the TouchPad down to just $99 and $149 in order to get rid of its unit inventory. But the deep price cut caused the tablet to sell out almost instantly. Now the research technology firm Canalys believes that HP should think about reviving the TouchPad due to the new interest in the product.
Reuters reports that according to Canalys, "The TouchPad was overpriced at launch and did not sell. This led HP to draw a premature conclusion that the product category had failed." Thanks to the price cut, Canalys says, "The TouchPad has become the "must-have" technology product of 2011. Perhaps no other technology vendor, apart from Apple, has ever created such hype for a technology product."
Because of this new interest from consumers, Canalys believes that the TouchPad has the potential to give Apple"s iPad a run for its money. It says, "HP has established a lead in the race to be the number two behind Apple in the pad business but the window of opportunity will begin to close if delays occur." If HP can continue to keep the price of the TouchPad low and increase the marketing of the device, Canalys believes that HP could capture 10 percent of the tablet market and double or even triple the market value of the company"s PC unit.
HP has already announced it will make one final production run of the TouchPad later this year but after those tablets are sold out, it will close the books on that product for good.