HP Says TouchPad Will Be Better Than Number One Tablet
May 23, 2011 12:25 PM EDT by 
Want to know how much faith HP has in the TouchPad tablet it is expected to launch in June? Here’s the head of the company’s European division, Eric Candor, at a press event in France:
“In the PC world, with fewer ways of differentiating HP’s products from our competitors, we became number one; in the tablet world we’re going to become better than number one. We call it number one plus.”
We all know that the best-selling tablet is currently the Apple iPad, and although Q2 2011 sales may have been down from some estimates, Apple still moved 4.59 millions units last quarter. The previous quarter saw 7.6 million units sold, and in 2010, Apple collected cash on 15 million units, even though the original iPad didn’t launch until April.
HP knows it won’t be easy (or feasible) to match those numbers, but it is being aggressive about competing with the tablet market’s established champion.At 9.7-inches, the HP TouchPad is the same size as the iPad, and the 32GB, Wi-Fi only TouchPad will start at the same price as an iPad with similar specs, $599. It’s entirely possible that HP will edge into Apple’s market share. The Touchpad has already been lauded by tech journalists and analysts for its intuitive webOS operating system and the power of its 1.2-GHz processor. Plus, there are rumors that the HP TouchPad will be sold at Wal-mart, giving it a very large channel to reach everyday consumers.
Of course, the iPad has several large, looming advantages. One is time: The iPad has been available for over a year and the slate is on its second design cycle. Another is cache: the word “iPad” itself has been branded into the world’s greater collective consciousness. My great-grandmother has yet to hear the phrase HP TouchPad on an episode of Modern Family. Then again, she might stumble across one while buying my socks at Wal-mart as early as next month, so we’ll see what happens.
via Telegraph UK
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