http://www.appleinsider.com/article...p_slate_sees_demand_fizzle_at_9000_units.html
Apple iPad rival HP Slate sees demand fizzle at 9,000 units
After announcing that demand for its HP Slate had "exceeded expectations," it has now leaked out that HP only planned to build 5,000 and ended up having to retool to build a total of 9,000 of them.
Compared to the average 46,555 iPads Apple sold per day over the last quarter (during constrained supplies), a total run of 9,000 isn't exactly the kind demand tablet observers would describe as "exceeding expectations," instead positioning the Slate PC in the same dismal category of failure trailblazed by Microsoft's Zune and KIN phone.
Jointly unveiled by Microsoft and HP at an event just weeks before Apple first debuted the iPad, the HP Slate was supposed to herald a new generation of Microsoft Tablet PCs running Windows 7 under the new moniker "Slate PC," hopefully cutting the connection with the past decade of generations of failed Tablet-sized devices running either Windows CE or the full desktop version of Windows.
Instead, Apple's release of the iPad quenched any enthusiasm for "Slate PCs," sending HP back to the drawing board while other Windows PC makers either abandoned their slate offerings or looked into alternative platforms (including Google's competing Chrome OS and Android OS). HP itself purchased Palm, announcing plans to produce WebOS-based devices over the next year.
(and here's the funny [and somewhat sad] part)
Recasting failure as an extraordinary surprise of sorts
This summer however, HP announced it would be offering its existing HP Slate 500 directly to business customers, skipping the consumer market until it could deliver a WebOS offering. It didn't announce that it only planned to build 5,000 of the Slate PC devices.
This weekend however, tech blog Engadget reported that a "trusted tipster" told it that HP "only ever planned a limited production run of 5,000 units" and "apparently had to re-hire production workers just to get the presses printing out tablets again, and are presently placating angry customers by offering them over $100 off their $800 purchase as apology."
On its website, HP euphemistically categorized the tiny production run and its incurring delay by saying, "due to extraordinary demand, the HP slate is on backorder. Orders are expected to ship in 6 weeks. Order now to reserve your place in the queue."
Apple iPad rival HP Slate sees demand fizzle at 9,000 units
After announcing that demand for its HP Slate had "exceeded expectations," it has now leaked out that HP only planned to build 5,000 and ended up having to retool to build a total of 9,000 of them.
Compared to the average 46,555 iPads Apple sold per day over the last quarter (during constrained supplies), a total run of 9,000 isn't exactly the kind demand tablet observers would describe as "exceeding expectations," instead positioning the Slate PC in the same dismal category of failure trailblazed by Microsoft's Zune and KIN phone.
Jointly unveiled by Microsoft and HP at an event just weeks before Apple first debuted the iPad, the HP Slate was supposed to herald a new generation of Microsoft Tablet PCs running Windows 7 under the new moniker "Slate PC," hopefully cutting the connection with the past decade of generations of failed Tablet-sized devices running either Windows CE or the full desktop version of Windows.
Instead, Apple's release of the iPad quenched any enthusiasm for "Slate PCs," sending HP back to the drawing board while other Windows PC makers either abandoned their slate offerings or looked into alternative platforms (including Google's competing Chrome OS and Android OS). HP itself purchased Palm, announcing plans to produce WebOS-based devices over the next year.
(and here's the funny [and somewhat sad] part)
Recasting failure as an extraordinary surprise of sorts
This summer however, HP announced it would be offering its existing HP Slate 500 directly to business customers, skipping the consumer market until it could deliver a WebOS offering. It didn't announce that it only planned to build 5,000 of the Slate PC devices.
This weekend however, tech blog Engadget reported that a "trusted tipster" told it that HP "only ever planned a limited production run of 5,000 units" and "apparently had to re-hire production workers just to get the presses printing out tablets again, and are presently placating angry customers by offering them over $100 off their $800 purchase as apology."
On its website, HP euphemistically categorized the tiny production run and its incurring delay by saying, "due to extraordinary demand, the HP slate is on backorder. Orders are expected to ship in 6 weeks. Order now to reserve your place in the queue."
