HP's $US99 TouchPad tablet selling out in retailer fire sale

The fire sale came just two days afterwards HP said it was looking to sell or spin-off its Personal Systems Group, which markets PCs and mobile devices. HP as well said it would without warning stop development of the TouchPad, just a little over a month afterwards the first models went on sale. The company as well is discontinuing development and sale of the smartphones, including the Pre and Veer. The devices run on the webOS software, and the company said it would continue development of the OS platform and explore business opportunities around the OS, including licensing it to hardware makers.

The TouchPad went on sale in early July

The TouchPad went on sale in early July, nevertheless it couldn't compete against Apple's iPad and tablets running on Google's Android OS. The TouchPad was as well criticized for its bulkiness, slow performance and underdeveloped software ecosystem. By the end of July, HP was offering $50 "instant rebates" to boost sales, and cut the price by $100 the following week. A TouchPad model with 16GB of storage was originally $499, and a 32GB model was $599.

The early TouchPads were purchased either by gadget enthusiasts or developers, some of whom already owned iPad or Android devices. They were curious to see how webOS would perform, and some were looking for an alternative.

Veer smartphone

Woodruff considered purchasing a Veer smartphone by the by if a good deal popped up, nevertheless is glad he did not pick up the phone.

"At $100 or $150 they would be worth it as a developer's toy since I nevertheless like the OS. As things are now, with [Apple's] iCloud and iOS coming, and with it bringing many of the features I liked about webOS, and with the Macs already in the household, this made the most sense," Woodruff said in an e-mail interview.