$99 HP Touchpad Sale: More Tablets Arriving Soon, But Will Price be Raised?

By CP News Briefs, Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Hundreds of thousands of HP TouchPad tablets are to be launched through an October production run of the discontinued tablet, it has been reported.

HP is set to release a massive run of the now-popular Touchpad so that it can satisfy “unfulfilled demand.”

According to a DigiTimes report, HP will supply 200,000 TouchPad units, including touch panels, batteries, and chassis.

A massive demand for the HP tablets came about when the company slashed prices for the product, after poor sales in the months following its launch. HP introduced a sale price of $99 for the 16GB device and $149 for the 32GB device, which sold out within days as consumers flocked to try out the cheap tablet.

The sale proved a massive success as customers desperately tried to get their hands on the device, selling for $400 less than the Apple iPad 2.

The device completely sold out worldwide at retailers carrying the hugely discounted price.

HP previously announced: "Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand."

However, the company added, "We can’t promise we’ll have enough for everyone."

In addition, HP has said it could not guarantee the price reduction at every retailer, as each would be given the freedom to decide whether to implement HP’s sale price or to charge a higher amount. There have also been rumors that HP might try to cash-in on demand by now raising prices for the final run of the Touchpad.

On the company’s blog it stated: “Each retailer will manage their own policy and process regarding pricing and price matching. Please contact the local retailer of your choice to see what their current position is.”