In The technology research firm, Canalys, has said in its recently published report that if HP reintroduced its TouchPad tablet, the value of the companys PC division could get doubled if not tripled. Canalys said, The TouchPad was overpriced at launch and did not sell. This led HP to draw a premature conclusion that the product category had failed. In other words, the sales could have been better if the pricing strategy had been right.
Once HP slashed the price of its tablet to $99 after announcing the TouchPads demise, it ignited an online frenzy and prompting long lines to form at retailers as bargain-hunters chased down a gadget that had hitherto failed to excite consumers. The TouchPad has become the 'must-have' technology product of 2011. Perhaps no other technology vendor, apart from Apple, has ever created such hype for a technology product, the Canalys research note said.
Due to high sales of the TouchPad at reduced price, HP has managed to establish a lead in the race for being the number two behind Apple in the Tablet business. But according to Canalys, the window of opportunity will start closing if delays occur. Only last year Apple created a Tablet market with its iPad and it still dominates the segment. It has sold some 30 million of the devices, which are priced from about $500.
However, the problem is that HP is losing as much as $200 on every TouchPad due to its price slashing. The company cannot continue to offer such a low price if it intends to remain in the tablet market. Canalys believes that if HP can bring down the cost of manufacture of the device and it can start using the Android OS, then it could be a big player in the Tablet space.
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