Bummer news for those who were hoping to pick up a new HP TouchPad at fire sale prices only so you could port some Android goodness onto it. It looks as though the future is grim for the TouchPad and it has reached the end of it’s production.
With the majorly successful fire sale that HP had, all TouchPads at the discounted rate disappeared almost instantly. Although you can still find them places at full retail price, there was always the hope that HP would magically replenish stock and continue to sell the TouchPad at the discounted rates. HP even had a sign up page on their website leading consumers to believe that the TouchPad may eventually be resurrected.
Today, HP sent out emails to those who were on the “keep me posted” list only to be informed that the TouchPad would officially be no more. Although the email below doesn’t exactly say that production has come to an end, reports are confirming this to be true.
I am damn-near positive HP won’t withdraw from the Tablet industry. The demand is too high for the product and with a fairly successful piece of hardware, (notice I didn’t say software) HP would be foolish to withdraw completely. I imagine a more successful attempt with a slightly new design and a completely different OS, most likely a derivative of Windows. Although I would prefer to see them focus on using ICS in their next tablet build, HP has never really expressed any desire to work with our beloved Android OS. With reports saying that HP is currently testing Windows 8 on TouchPads, you can bet we won’t see that until late next year. Even then, Apple and various Android manufacturers will have debuted their latest and greatest, so what ever HP decides to do you can bet there will be some stiff competition.
