HP offers devs £130 32GB TouchPad tablets
App encouragement, or warehouse clearance attempt?
Want a cheap HP TouchPad? The computer giant is offering "for a limited time" the 32GB version of its WebOS-based fondleslab for £130. The catch: you have to be a registered WebOS developer.
The offer comes to an end on 18 November. Successful applicants are sent a voucher that entitles them to a TouchPad for £130 - €150 in Europe, $150 in the US. HP will send you two such coupons.
The voucher has to be used by 27 November - "or while supplies last", warned HP in a bid to ensure no one hangs around.
Signing up for a Developer Account is free, though you'll need a PayPal account, HP says. There's a separate, PayPal-less Community Account, which lets you code apps but not offer them through the WebOS app store. It's unclear from the Ts&Cs whether this is good for a device voucher.
Got to be worth a try, though.
Of course, why develop for a platform that HP has all but killed? Perhaps HP doesn't care, and is simply trying to get rid of its few remaining stocks of TouchPads.
More details at the HP TouchPad Device Purchase Program page. ®
COMMENTS
All gone
We would like to thank you for your interest in the TouchPad Developer Device Purchase Program. We currently have more requests for coupons than we have devices and will not be accepting any further requests.
It all makes sense now!
"Quite frankly, I don't care! That is, I don't care how/why/who/etc.... yep! HP employee"
You weren't involved in any of HP's strategy meetings were you?
@ Ancient Oracle funkie
Oh, an HP employee? Any chance you can have a word with Meg and get her to reinstate webOS devices?
Not a stock clearance
"Perhaps HP doesn't care, and is simply trying to get rid of its few remaining stocks of TouchPads."
This theory doesn't make any sense at all. HP promised more TP's would be built, and they were. They had a backlog of orders for this second run, and most of these customers were sent away empty handed because HP didn't have enough stock.
If these TPs weren't reserved specifically for developers, why didn't they just allocate them to existing orders?
did anyone get a response?
I managed to get off an email before they closed their applications, but no response yet... Has anyone heard back from them? Gonna download the tools over the weekend and give it a shot if they actually privide me with a slab :)
