TouchPad Fire Sale Round 2 Coming Up
HP's Bryna Corcoran has been a tweeting machine this week. As HP's Social Media Manager, she's been keeping folks abreast on the latest TouchPad fire sale news.
Earlier today, she announced some reassuring news for folks who lost out on the $99 TouchPad Sale. Stay tuned because more webOS TouchPad stock is going to be available any day now!
According to International Business Times, Best Buy has been boxing up and shipping their TouchPad inventory back to HP. So this is possibly a result of that shift in inventory. Other retailers may get more product in, however, it sounds like the best bet will be to monitor HP's website and follow BrynaAtHP over the next few days. Good luck!
[Source: BrynaAtHP and International Business Times]
Early Adopters Reward – $50 App Credit from HP
Cringing at that $499 Touchpad purchase now that your friends are picking it up for $299 this weekend at Staples? HP has a little something to ease the your webOS pain.
HP announced yesterday on thier Palm Blog that early adopters of the Touchpad (purchased between July 1 and August 4) can expect a $50 credit for the webOS App Catalog. Watch your inbox for details sometime next week. This is on top of the $50 rebate that users who went for the 32 gig model will receive.
The credits are good through December 31, 2011. Thanks HP -- this is a nice touch! Plus, it is a win-win for the webOS eco-system. Users get to test out apps that maybe they would never have purchased. And webOS developers have a little more incentive to release some new apps to the marketplace to grab up some of this free app-credit cash.
Now, all we need are some great apps to spend our money on! Here's hoping for some document editing, remote login and a decent weather app. Oh, and maybe a Bible app with modern translations that can be used offline. We'd gladly pay for those apps -- free credits or not.
Hello There, Little Veer!
Well, it's Sunday and the Veer has finally landed -- the HP Veer 4G from AT&T, that is!
. Here are the direct links:
Interestingly, the Veer is not yet available for purchase at HP's own Wireless Central website.
As far as in-store availability, your best bet is AT&T. Our spot checks have shown that Best buy does not yet have these guys in stock and are only offering online shipping at this time. Of course, Best Buy is the place for the $0 price point (with 2-year contract and $36 activation fee).
Interesting...On BestBuy.com, there is no mention of the $50 swap for a Best Buy gift card to get the $0 price point. The price stands at $0 all through the checkout process. That's great news for those of us who don't live near Best Buy stores!
No advertising or promotional efforts can be seen at this point in the game. In fact, the product is pretty well hidden on both websites -- not even searchable on AT&T! But we'll see what the new week brings.
So who is going to grab a Veer today?
webOS Slate Sneaks Out Today — HP Says “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet”
Our friends at Engadget.com snagged a great scoop today with the release of what could very well be a representation of the upcoming HP/Palm/webOS tablet device. And she' s a beauty!
HP Palm webOS Tablet
HP promptly send word out saying "Think you saw the latest on Engadget? Think again!"
Oh, all this "thinking" is tiresome!
Kudos for HP for what looks to be a solid and creative marketing campaign. Let's hope the hype leads to a very successful launch of new and affordable webOS devices on February 9, 2011.
We love the fact that the Palm branding is on the device. But we especially love that, after all these months in the desert, there is finally some signs of progress for our beloved webOS.
[ Source: Engadget ]
Are webOS/Palm Specs Really Going to Matter on Feb 9?
On Feb. 9 we are going to see a whole new lineup of webOS devices -- or at least a roadmap of devices to come. As I read between the lines of their "Think Big, Think Small, Think Beyond (Think too much!) slogan for this event, I envision the introduction of various new devices targetted to specific groups of people -- students, businessmen, soccer moms, and techies.
Gone are the days of Palm being a business productivity tool. The next generation devices will delve into all aspects of life -- social, productivity, communications, entertainment, and media consumption.
I know that I'm in the vast minority when I say that I LOVED the "spooky girl" ad campaign, because that was exactly the message -- that the Palm Pre was a central hub for your life. But that's a debate for another time!
My point today is that we seem to focus on specs so much -- processor speed, camera resolution, onboard memory, 3G or 4G, storage, data speed, video resolution, GPS, Flash compatible...blah, blah, blah.
Don't get my wrong. Specs are important. On February 9, HP/Palm had better have devices with specs that knock the competition back -- if only to capture media attention and feed rabid Palm loyalists.
For MONTHS, people have been SPECulating about the SPECS that the new webOS devices will have. But at the end of the day, it's not really the specs that matter, is it? It really comes down to a simple question.
Will webOS devices create a need that people need to fill?
A few years ago, the Palm Treo did just that. The concept of merging my contacts, calendar, email and tasks with a phone brought me to plop the cash down to buy one (and another, and another).
In a marketplace of waaay too many smartphone and tablet competitors, how will HP/Palm create a device that people will need?
Well, that's just it. The device isn't really going to matter that much. In fact, Palm can not and should not compete head to head with device specs. That is a never-ending, never (fully) winning battle. And really, in the next few years, specs really won't be enough to differentiate mobile devices.
There must be something more.
HP, with the webOS environment might just be able to pull this off.
Perhaps a family of devices that can sync and actually work together seamlessly. And priced affordably so that a real, working family could actually bring a few devices into the home, school and workplace. A tablet for the daughter in high school; a small but sophisticated smartphone for mom; a slab (gamer's) phone for the junior high son; and a business-class performance device for the road warrior dad. And maybe a netbook that sits at home to power the media center.
All separate and unique, but also all interconnected through the power of webOS and cloud-based syncing.
Now THAT would be a comeback for Palm!
Palm ‘Newness’ On It’s Way – February Press Event
HP Palm WebOS Media Event
HP / Palm today issued invitations to a February 9 media event to, we assume, introduce new products and outlay a road map for an aggressive release of new WebOS devices in 2011.They call it "an exciting webOS announcement"
Instead of competing with the madness that is CES, HP has instead opted to throw their own show -- much like that little competitor, Apple. This event will be in San Francisco, CA. The big question is this -- does HP have the clout to drive significant media attention towards their lineup of WebOS devices? We think yes. In fact, we think it is a bold move, and, if pulled off right, give a significant mindshare boost to our beloved WebOS!
Of course, we would like to see Palm ditch the "upcoming months" lingo and start selling products in the hotel lobby after the event. But that's probably not very realistic!
One thing to note. Our beloved "Palm" brand name is no where to be seen on the announcement. We're guessing that the HP brand will be all over these new devices. Time will tell, but we still think that Palm has a nice ring to it, and brings instant brand recognition to the devices.