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Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

arstechnica.com

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Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#31

Post by barista »

mgkimsal wrote: post #28
commandar wrote: post #27

I think the TouchPad is a cautionary tale that exemplifies something Apple does right: Don't ship broken hardware. I have a tech journalist friend who knew I was extremely interested in the TouchPad prior to launch, and let me play with his review unit for a bit. I was ready to drop $500 on one at launch, and walked away crushingly disappointed. The software clearly wasn't ready and with the product launch only a few…

Amazingly, webOS/palm got a do-over, in the form of HP buying them. "We're too small to compete" was the Palm motto towards the end, and HP buying them was seen by the faithful as a way of "getting it right" - more money and resources behind them, they'll be able to really get webOS out there. And they did the exact same stuff they'd done two years earlier. Announce and briefly demo a product at start of the year? Ch…

Now sudddenly Nokia doesn't look too dumb right? Replace HP with nokia and webos with symbian and this could a story we'd be reading sometime in future.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#32

Post by barista »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #18
acabal wrote: post #8

I think the problem is that people still don't care about or want tablet computers; they care about and want iPads. All the companies jumping on the tablet bandwagon forgot what happened to 95% of the mp3 players that sprang up to compete with the iPod.

Yes, the tablet market is very different from phones. Everyone needs a phone and when their contract expires, many of go to the carrier store and get the one they like, which in some cases, is the latest Android phone that people remember seeing in the Droid or Evo commercials on TV. With tablets, it's very different, many people just don't see the need for one yet. While the iPad is shipping very well, much of that…

Microsoft dissed tablets because they were not winning at it. Remember they were the first ones to bring tablets to the market. They screwed up on the form factor and the overall experience though.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#33

Post by saturdaysaint »

canistr wrote: post #17
acabal wrote: post #8

I think the problem is that people still don't care about or want tablet computers; they care about and want iPads. All the companies jumping on the tablet bandwagon forgot what happened to 95% of the mp3 players that sprang up to compete with the iPod.

That's not really a 'problem' though if people understand what they want. What it really means is that HP needs to step up their game on all fronts to make a product and compel people to buy it. I mean, I tried the TouchPad. It's good in a lot of ways but mediocre in other ways. It's a lot like how the G1 launched. Die-hards bought it, the tech-savvy liked it but weren't 'flocking' to it, and the average consumer jus…

A pretty significant piece of Android/Droid's success that you don't mention is that the Droid launched on the biggest U.S. network essentially without a competitor. If you wanted a phone with a decent browser on Verizon (and Sprint/TMo) in 2009/2010, it was Android or nothing. That's a luxury none of Apple's competitors have now.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#34

Post by jfruh »

recoiledsnake wrote: post #20
canistr wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's not really a 'problem' though if people understand what they want. What it really means is that HP needs to step up their game on all fronts to make a product and compel people to buy it. I mean, I tried the TouchPad. It's good in a lot of ways but mediocre in other ways. It's a lot like how the G1 launched. Die-hards bought it, the tech-savvy liked it but weren't 'flocking' to it, and the average consumer jus…

>HP needs something like a 'Droid' campaign to really spark interest in their products. I see a lot of Touchpad, Playbook and Xoom ads on TV. Atleast the Xoom ones seem to be on the level of the Droid ads(it's Motorola again, of course). The ads seem ok and cool but if the current sales figures are something to go by, don't seem to be very effective. As I said in another comment, it's easier to get people to buy a ph…

The Xoom ads I've seen are fairly baffling, full of robots and weird spaceship thingies. In contrast, the iPad ads almost seem like anti-marketing. Look, here's what the product looks like! Look, here's what the apps do! Of course they're actually very cunningly designed (it's difficult to get simple things done that well) but they at least let you visualize what the iPad is and what it's for, which is more than I can say for the Xoom.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#35

Post by bigwally »

canistr wrote: post #15
mgkimsal wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'd loved to have played with some of them at my local store, but as is the case with almost most consumer PC stuff, the units are not on. The Apple display section at our local Best Buys are always loaded with functioning units that are open for people to explore - not locked down with crappy "BUY GEEK SQUAD SERVICE!" screen savers. The table with all the tablets at multiple Best Buy stores I've been in to recently…

Agreed. It's the same thing with the way they sell laptops or phones. Why leave dumb units lying around? Why would anyone ever buy a device that they haven't tried? Best Buy (as well as other stores) need to have well-functioning devices turned on and available for customers to try. Additionally, they need their employees to go around and reset the devices to ensure a proper functioning system instead of the ones bog…

Even going to Best Buy to try a unit does next to nothing. Pretty much everything that they sell has a flat battery, is stuck on a screen or suffering some other issue.

Except of course for the Apple display. All working. All looking good. All the time.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#37

Post by Osiris »

mgkimsal wrote: post #28
commandar wrote: post #27

I think the TouchPad is a cautionary tale that exemplifies something Apple does right: Don't ship broken hardware. I have a tech journalist friend who knew I was extremely interested in the TouchPad prior to launch, and let me play with his review unit for a bit. I was ready to drop $500 on one at launch, and walked away crushingly disappointed. The software clearly wasn't ready and with the product launch only a few…

Amazingly, webOS/palm got a do-over, in the form of HP buying them. "We're too small to compete" was the Palm motto towards the end, and HP buying them was seen by the faithful as a way of "getting it right" - more money and resources behind them, they'll be able to really get webOS out there. And they did the exact same stuff they'd done two years earlier. Announce and briefly demo a product at start of the year? Ch…

I find it amazing that people haven't learned the Apple lesson yet. Apple is doing well specifically because it doesn't release a product until it's perfect. They put a lot of thought and effort into every aspect of every device.

Why is it that companies like HP think that getting it out the door is more important that putting out a polished product? Just look at the white iPhone 4. Apple wouldn't release it until it was perfect, despite the fact that people were knocking down the door begging for it.

I've never owned an Apple product, but if I were going to get a tablet it would be an iPad. Everything else is just a cheap imitation and no one has proven to be anything other than that. I was really hoping the TouchPad would be the one device that could finally compete on polish and style with the iPad.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#38

Post by RexRollman »

j_col wrote: post #6
vbone wrote: post #3

I think the numbers are suspect. And note that the source is anonymous so take things with a grain of salt.

Yep they are very suspect, and just so happen to be right on the verge of HP publishing their revenue figures, so may be some market shenanigans at play.

I guess we'll know if HP only talks about shipped unit and not sold, or activated, units.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#39

Post by mgkimsal »

Osiris wrote: post #37
mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazingly, webOS/palm got a do-over, in the form of HP buying them. "We're too small to compete" was the Palm motto towards the end, and HP buying them was seen by the faithful as a way of "getting it right" - more money and resources behind them, they'll be able to really get webOS out there. And they did the exact same stuff they'd done two years earlier. Announce and briefly demo a product at start of the year? Ch…

I find it amazing that people haven't learned the Apple lesson yet. Apple is doing well specifically because it doesn't release a product until it's perfect. They put a lot of thought and effort into every aspect of every device. Why is it that companies like HP think that getting it out the door is more important that putting out a polished product? Just look at the white iPhone 4. Apple wouldn't release it until it…

I'd say Apple don't entirely - ipad 1 vs ipad 2. They could've waited another 6-9 months for a camera (and the ipad2 camera really isn't all that hot anyway). Apple doesn't put out gold 100% of the time.

A lot of people waited on ipad 1 for v2 because of the things it didn't have (camera, etc) But... perhaps closer to your point, what the ipad v1 did, it did very well. Better to leave a feature out altogether than do it half-baked.

I've been wanting a webOS device for a couple years, but I'm not going to pay the premium for it when I know out of the box it'll be less useful to me than the ipad these days (volume/variety of apps, third party products/etc).

I said this a couple times before - a touchpad - 7 or 10" - at $249 or $299 would KILL. HP could take the money from lame commercials and airport branding and magazine ads and such, apply it towards subsidizing cheap tablets, and own second place, possibly even the tablet first place in certain verticals. But they keep approaching this with marketing ideas that pretend that the iPad is 'just another product in the marketplace'. It's not. It created a marketplace. It defines the marketplace. So... quit trying to play in that market, and define your own.

Re: Report: Best Buy tells HP to take back its TouchPads

#40

Post by iaskwhy »

Osiris wrote: post #37
mgkimsal wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Amazingly, webOS/palm got a do-over, in the form of HP buying them. "We're too small to compete" was the Palm motto towards the end, and HP buying them was seen by the faithful as a way of "getting it right" - more money and resources behind them, they'll be able to really get webOS out there. And they did the exact same stuff they'd done two years earlier. Announce and briefly demo a product at start of the year? Ch…

I find it amazing that people haven't learned the Apple lesson yet. Apple is doing well specifically because it doesn't release a product until it's perfect. They put a lot of thought and effort into every aspect of every device. Why is it that companies like HP think that getting it out the door is more important that putting out a polished product? Just look at the white iPhone 4. Apple wouldn't release it until it…

Maybe they are reading too much Hacker News and the "ship ship ship" we preach over here. I know I have heard some companies thinking like that without realising it's not the best strategy for every company.
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