Nonwoodworking... HP Touchpad tablets are $99 now

[mckenziedrums]

HP is discontinuing their TouchPad Tablets. Almost 10" tablet that was retailing for $400-500 just a few months ago.

Best buy sold out yesterday before I could grab one but they apparently restocked. Don't imagine they'll last long.

16gb version: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+To...38&ci_sku=2842056&ref=39&CJPID=5400372&loc=01

32gb Version was available this morning for $149 and I bought one for my mom but appears to have sold out since then.

I'm hoping to use mine in the shop for PDF plans, etc.

There's a website dedicated to tracking where these are available until they are sold out: http://justindeals.com/hp-touchpad-tablet-for-99-update-list-of-updated-merchants-status/

 

[mckenziedrums]

Yikes looks like they sold out at Best Buy already this morning. Might be available at some stores I guess?

Found a link for the 32gb if anyone is interested: http://shopping1.hp.com/is-bin/INTE...se?CatalogCategoryID=dMgQ7habWagAAAEveclKiY4n

Oh for the non IT folks... This is running WebOS an operating system unique to HP. (Formerly Palm's OS) They're discontinuing the device but have said the OS will live on for a while. Reviews are generally pretty good other than saying it was overpriced at $500.

 

[CatButler]

This is probably why they are so cheap
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/20/BUTN1KP78U.DTL

HP has dropped their line of WebOS products. No new software release from them. That isn't necessarily bad. With the cheap hardware, someone will probably put an OpenSource OS on it and it may be better than the original. Either Android or some handheld version of Linux may run nicely on it. I only recommend that if you like getting you're hands dirty with computers. Somethings are just so incredibly frustrating going open source with these device and trying to put the correct software together is much harder than you think it should be.

 

[mckenziedrums]

Well for web browsing, email, etc they're just fine in their existing form. The reviews were actually pretty positive and that's when they were $500... Basically the over all feeling I got from reviews was that at a $350ish price range they'd be seriously competitive in the market. At this price they're fantastic... 1ghz processor, 9.7" screen, 1 gig of ram... that's impressive. But yea, what you get is what you get with little hope of future upgrades. Unless of course the team working on the Android port works it out like you mentioned. Then it'll be the best friggen $100 tablet on the planet

 

[ehpoole]

Actually, the greater risk with a lack of future upates is not so much a lack of future features but, rather, a growing list of risks and known exploits as their software and builtin apps become increasingly obsolete. Over time I would become increasingly concerned with respect to using the tablet for authenticated web browsing and email, much less anything involving financial transactions.

Something to keep in mind if the manufacturer no longer intends to support the platform.

For those adept with Linux and BSD distributions and building and compiling custom kernels this isn't as great a concern, but for the average Joe it may not be quite the deal it appears to be unless you plan to toss (or at least discontinue use) within a year or so of HP's last issued WebOS update. After a year of no updates the list of known risks will have both grown significantly as well as become too widely known to place continued trust in their relative obscurity. While I don't expect a WebOS tablet to ever gain the degree of unwanted attention that PCs and Servers garner, if the discovered weaknesses prove easy enough to effectively exploit then there is enough of an installed base to attract unwanted attention from certain elements.

Just my $0.02.

 

[mckenziedrums]

I can see that... especially since my background is mostly IT/Servers/etc. But like you said, I just can't see this being a main stream target for exploitation. The user base will be too small to yield financial results and that's really what drives "hacking" these days. Whether it's redirects to drive up hits or full on attempts to grab user information... Look at the way things USED to be for Apple as an example. Small user base, no drive towards spending the effort needed to find the soft spots.

Of course there's always a chance that someone gets bored and finds a way in I suppose. However for my own personal use I will just be using this for email, video/mp3, and viewing my many pdfs of woodworking plans in the shop. Maybe some skype chat with the wife when I'm away from the house, etc. Avoiding any financial transactions might be a wise choice if they find any future security issues with the OS but I really wasn't planning on doing much in the way of finances on it anyways.

 

[redhawknc1]

I haven't had any luck finding one yet. Found one at Best Buy Mobile in Asheville yesterday but they wouldn't hold it or let me go ahead and pay over the phone. I guess I'll be missing this deal...:gar-Cr

 

[kernnal]

If you call hp customer service (number on hp website), select option 3 and make it through the tremendously long holding period to get to talk to an actual person in India. You may be able to order one.

I just figured 'what the heck' and tried it....Got 2 of them being shipped right now....I figure for something simple to play with and watch videos on during trips, its worth it.

FWIW...

K