Profit: The Real Reason for the Success of the HP Touchpad Sale?

Only a week after HP announced wholesale changes to its business, the company is benefiting off the reduced price of its Touchpad tablet.

Last Thursday, the company announced it was spinning off its PC business, ending all webOS devices including the recently launched, and highly promoted Touchpad and acquiring an enterprise software company, Autonomy. It was a stunning move, a huge shift in the company's focus, and the reaction was ugly.

The stock tanked 20 percent going from $29.46 to $23.86 and analysts told investors to stay away.

However, shortly after HP cut the price of its Touchpad from $399 to $99. This caused a flurry of sales. According to HP, they are out of inventory. Other retailers, such as Dixons in Britain, reported the Touchpad was flying off the shelves as well.

There are many theories as to why the HP Touchpad has been so successful despite the fact the manufacturer is essentially ending support for its operating system. The cheap-price is an obvious appealing factor.

There are also people buying the tablets en masse for a profit. According to a report from IT Pro Portal, a seller on eBay bought 100 HP Touchpads at the $99 pricepoint. He was then somehow able to sell 70 of the Touchpads at an approximate price of $323. As a rough estimate, this is a profit of about $12,000 - a little less when you consider the eBay fees and taxes.

Here's the guy's page on eBay. He appears to be at it again, selling 10 more for a much higher price than the $99 tag.

eBay also lends a clue for another reason for HP Touchpad's popularity. Hack N Mod, a web portal for hackers, offered a $2,100 bounty for developers to get the Android operating system on the HP Touchpad.

Complete one (or several) of the tasks above and let the world know! Post your source code on GitHub and paste links to your pictures and videos in the comments below (or email us). All work must be documented under an open source license. The first person or group to successfully complete a fully functional task above wins the corresponding prize. The only condition is that your port must have a user-friendly installation process (such that the average user can easily install it), Hack N Mod instructed on its website.

The contest may have spurred sales among developers. According to various media reports, there's apparently an HP Touchpad with the Android operating system (2.2 Froyo) selling on Ebay. A search of this inquiry on eBay brings back four results. Although two don't claim to be a Touchpad with Android.

Follow Gabriel Perna on Twitter at @GabrielSPerna