Lines Form for $99 TouchPad, Now Sold Out
Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 22nd Aug 2011 21:19 UTC
PDAs, Cellphones, Wireless Last week, HP killed its webOS devices unit. Over the weekend, the company slashed the prices on the TouchPad. The result? The TouchPad sold out completely in a matter of hours. This confirms what I've been hearing from friends and family: "I'd love a tablet, but I'm not paying laptop money for one."
E-mail Print r 4   · Read More · 153 Comment(s) http://osne.ws/jcy
Thread beginning with comment 486384
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
RE[4]: No, it isn't.
by kristoph on Tue 23rd Aug 2011 05:54 UTC in reply to "RE[3]: No, it isn't."
kristoph
Member since:
2006-01-01

You can get a $100 tablet today. In 10 or 20 years time you'll still be able to buy a $100 tablet, and a $500 tablet which will be better (and more magical).

Anyway this means nothing.

The iPhone is the most popular smart phone in the US ( actually it holds both the #1 and #2 spots, it's that magical ;-) but it only has 20% of the US market after 4 years on the market.

The iPod has been around for 10 years, it still commands 65% of the music player market.

Both are subject to the same economic impact on technology.

]{

Reply Parent Score: 2

RE[5]: No, it isn't.
by Neolander on Tue 23rd Aug 2011 06:05 in reply to "RE[4]: No, it isn't."
Neolander Member since:
2010-03-08

You can get a $100 tablet today. In 10 or 20 years time you'll still be able to buy a $100 tablet, and a $500 tablet which will be better (and more magical).

There's a huge difference. Today's $100 tablets are piece of junk. Tomorrow's $100 tablets will be good enough. At which point the $500 tablet market will become a niche, just like $4000 laptops are a niche nowadays.

The iPhone is the most popular smart phone in the US ( actually it holds both the #1 and #2 spots, it's that magical ;-) but it only has 20% of the US market after 4 years on the market.

4 year is not maturity, even for computers. Microcomputers have appeared in the late 70s, and that market has only reached the stable equilibrium that we know well in the early 90s. I think we are still up for some surprises in the smartphone world.

The iPod has been around for 10 years, it still commands 65% of the music player market.

Because Apple have been clever and have made cheap iPods too ;)

Both are subject to the same economic impact on technology.

Well, my own interpretation's above. In the end, your guess is as good as mine, I guess, but I'm ready to bet ;)

Edited 2011-08-23 06:06 UTC

Reply Parent Score: 1

RE[6]: No, it isn't.
by kristoph on Tue 23rd Aug 2011 14:53 in reply to "RE[5]: No, it isn't."
kristoph Member since:
2006-01-01

There's a huge difference. Today's $100 tablets are piece of junk. Tomorrow's $100 tablets will be good enough. At which point the $500 tablet market will become a niche, just like $4000 laptops are a niche nowadays.


Apple makes the best selling laptops and their cheapest laptop is twice this price so this theory is clearly not valid.

http://amzn.to/mPtlJ4

Because Apple have been clever and have made cheap iPods too ;)


There are mp3 players at a fraction of the cost of the cheapest iPod and they do exactly the same thing as the iPod but the iPod still dominates.

http://amzn.to/qgqX7X

Notice that the best selling mp3 player is actually USD 229 a whopping 11 times a competing player also on the top 10.

So this is a nice theory but the market reality just does not back it up.

Reply Parent Score: 2

Read more of this thread... >