HP TouchPad: Difference between revisions

Initial sales of the device sold 25,000 of 270,000 units, and did not meet HP's expectations, rapidly becoming overshadowed by the launch of the [[iPad 2]] in March. On August 16, 2011, it was reported that [[Best Buy]] refused to pay HP for any more TouchPad stock.<ref name=ouchpad>{{cite news|last=Hesseldahl|first=Arik|title=Ouchpad: Best Buy Sitting on a Pile of Unsold HP Tablets|url=http://allthingsd.com/20110816/ouchpad-best-buy-sitting-on-a-pile-of-unsold-hp-tablets/|access-date=August 17, 2011|newspaper=AllThingsD|date=August 17, 2011}}</ref> In Europe, the TouchPad was estimated to have sold 12,000 in its first month of release. In Australia, [[Harvey Norman]] who was the exclusive retailer sold about 1,200 units in the four days it was on sale.<ref name="zdnet australia">{{cite web|last=Hopewell|first=Luke|title=TouchPad fire sale cost over $300 per unit|url=http://www.zdnet.com.au/touchpad-fire-sale-cost-over-300-per-unit-339321202.htm|publisher=ZDNet}}</ref> Industry commentators suggested that the lack of apps for the platform and lackluster advertising was hindering sales.<ref name=tnw>{{cite web|last=Adhikari|first=Richard|title=Is the HP TouchPad Untouchable?|url=http://www.technewsworld.com/story/Is-the-HP-TouchPad-Untouchable-73094.html|publisher=Technewsworld|access-date=August 18, 2011}}</ref> On August 18, HP announced that it would discontinue all webOS devices.<ref>[http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press/2011/110818b.html?mtxs=rss-corp-news HP Confirms Discussions with Autonomy Corporation plc Regarding Possible Business Combination; Makes Other Announcements], Aug. 18, 2011, News Release, Hewlett-Packard Development Company</ref> HP CTO Shane Robison noted that the TouchPad "was half a generation or a generation behind the [[iPad]] and so that wasn't going to drive volume."<ref name=crnhp>{{cite web|last=Kovar|first=Joseph|title=HP Committed To WebOS As Enterprise Development Platform|url=http://www.crn.com/news/applications-os/231601470/hp-committed-to-webos-as-enterprise-development-platform.htm;jsessionid=+56y7GiNHHlanY7QZ0aa8A**.ecappj02|publisher=CRN|access-date=September 18, 2011}}</ref> Some years later, a member of the development team described the device as being made from "cast-off reject iPad parts."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ziegler|first1=Chris|title=Pre to postmortem: the inside story of the death of Palm and webOS|url=https://www.theverge.com/2012/6/5/3062611/palm-webos-hp-inside-story-pre-postmortem|website=The Verge|date=June 5, 2012 |access-date=September 11, 2014}}</ref>

On August 19, 2011, HP announced a substantial price drop on the TouchPad. In Canada and the USA, the price was $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB model and quickly sold out.<ref name="firesale"/><ref name=tpfire>[https://techcrunch.com/2011/08/19/hp-issues-touchpad-liquidation-order-get-yours-now-for-100/ HP Issues TouchPad Liquidation Order – Get Yours Now For $100], By Devin Coldewey, August 19, 2011, TechCrunch</ref> Large numbers of buyers acquired the TouchPad at these "[[firesale]]" prices.<ref>{{cite webnews|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/08/hp-touchpad-mania-touchpads-selling-out-in-us-at-99.html |title=HP TouchPad mania: TouchPads selling out in U.S. |worknewspaper=LA Times |date=August 20, 2011 |access-date=January 4, 2012}}</ref> Most brick-and-mortar retailers reportedly sold out their entire inventories within hours the morning of August 20.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/202438/20110823/hp-touchpad-hurricane-irene-where-is-gaddafi-s-p.htm |title=HP TouchPad Sells Out, Gadhafi Whereabouts Unknown: Daily Scoop |publisher=Ibtimes.com |access-date=January 4, 2012}}</ref> Online retailers, including [[Barnes & Noble]], [[Amazon.com]], and Best Buy, took orders on August 22 that rapidly exceeded their inventory, and were forced to cancel many orders.<ref>[http://www.pcworld.com/article/238674/touchpad_backlash_retailers_say_sorry_for_order_errors.html TouchPad Backlash: Retailers Say 'Sorry' For Order Errors], By David Daw, Aug 23, 2011, PCWorld</ref> A similar sale was held in Australian Harvey Norman stores, with several stores selling out their inventory within an hour.<ref>Chris Griffith, August 22, 2011, [http://www.theaustralian.com.au/australian-it/exec-tech/harvey-norman-sells-touchpad-at-100/story-e6frgazf-1226119630371 Harvey Norman sells HP TouchPad at $100], The Australian</ref><ref>Moses and Grubb, Aug 22, 2011,[http://www.bordermail.com.au/news/national/national/general/hp-touchpad-fire-sale-slashed-from-499-to-99-in-a-week/2266403.aspx HP TouchPad fire sale: slashed from $499 to $99 in a week], The Border Mail</ref> Similar sales took place in the UK with several stores reducing prices (£89 for the 16GB and £115 for the 32GB), and the HP TouchPad became the tablet with the highest approval rating.<ref>The Lonesome Success of the HP TouchPad Aug 9, 2011,[http://www.andrewsavory.com/blog/2011/1539 TouchPad fire sale: slashed from $499 to $99 in a week] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111117025721/http://www.andrewsavory.com/blog/2011/1539 |date=November 17, 2011 }}, Andrew Savory</ref> HP TouchPad stock immediately sold out domestically and overseas from consumers rushing to take advantage of the price promotion.

On January 17, 2012, a port of [[Android Ice Cream Sandwich|Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)]] based on CyanogenMod 9 became available. It was a preliminary alpha build (Alpha 0) with some features including hardware-accelerated video playback, microphone and camera not functional at the time. It was updated to Alpha 0.5 around January 24, 2012 and then to Alpha 0.6 around January 30, 2012, bringing fixes and stability improvements.<ref>{{cite web|title=HP TouchPad Ice Cream Sandwich CM9 updated to Alpha 0.6|date=January 30, 2012 |url=http://androidcommunity.com/hp-touchpad-ice-cream-sandwich-cm9-updated-to-alpha-0-6-20120130/}}</ref>

[[Android Nougat|Android 7.0]] (Nougat) was made available in September 2016, via Evervolv, an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) ROM authored by Flintman, and is nearly feature complete. It is usable and runs better than 5.1.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://forum.xda-developers.com/hp-touchpad/development/rom-evervolv-7-0-0p1-wifi-t3456292 |title= &#91;ROM&#93; Evervolv &#124; 7.0.0p1 &#91;AOSP Nougat 7.0.0&#93; &#91;3.4 kernel&#93; &#91;ALPHA&#93; WIFI & 4G|website=forum.xda-developers.com |access-date=6 Oct 2016}}{{SemiBareRefNeedsTitle|date=May 2022}}</ref>

[[Android Pie|Android 9.0]] (Pie) was made available in April 2019, via Evervolv, an Android Open Source Project (AOSP) ROM.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.xda-developers.com/hp-touchpad-android-pie-custom-rom/|title=The HP TouchPad is back from the dead thanks to an Android 9 Pie custom ROM|website=XDA Developers|date=April 27, 2019 |language=en|access-date=2019-04-28}}</ref>

Early reviews of the HP TouchPad were mixed. [[David Pogue]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' wrote, "It works beautifully, and conveys far more information than the [[iPad 2]]. The tablet offers "real multitasking" with all open apps always running."<ref name=lxnewsreview>{{cite web|title=LX News Review of Touchpad|url=http://lxnews.org/2011/07/04/hp-releases-the-touchpad/|access-date=August 18, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110809065336/http://lxnews.org/2011/07/04/hp-releases-the-touchpad/|archive-date=August 9, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Mossberg|first=Walter|title=HP TouchPad goes on sale to mixed reviews|url=http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/news/hp-touchpad-goes-on-sale-to-mixed-reviews|publisher=PC World|access-date=August 20, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817162013/http://pcworld.co.nz/pcworld/pcw.nsf/news/hp-touchpad-goes-on-sale-to-mixed-reviews|archive-date=August 17, 2011|df=mdy-all}}</ref> Jason Chen of [[Gizmodo]] wrote, "After actually holding the TouchPad, I can say it's deceptively heavy. It's around the same weight as the iPad, but you'd think it would be lighter because the back was made of plastic. That said, it's not overly heavy, just heavier than you'd think by looking."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/5756223/hps-touchpad-tablet-looks-great-but-moves-slow |title=HP's TouchPad Tablet Looks Great, But Feels Slow |publisher=Gizmodo.com |date=February 9, 2011 |access-date=January 4, 2012}}</ref> Matt Buchanan, also writing for Gizmodo, praised the OS interface concept as 'good conceptually' but described the performance as "slow motion... give this thing six months. It could be amazing. If it's not by then, well, I guess that says everything that needs to be said."<ref name="Touchpad review Buchanan">{{cite web|last1=Buchanan|first1=Matt|title=Touchpad review|url=https://gizmodo.com/5816916/hp-touchpad-review-unbreak-my-heart|website=Gizmodo}}</ref> The Verge also noted poor performance, describing its interface as 'intuitive and natural' but 'sluggish, unfinished...a bit of a hard sell right now.'<ref name="TouchPad review Verge">{{cite web|last1=Stern|first1=Joanna|title=TouchPad review|url=https://www.theverge.com/2011/10/24/2510554/hp-touchpad-review|website=Verge|date=June 29, 2011 |access-date=5 October 2015}}</ref>