HP Resurrects TouchPad for 'One Last Time' to Meet Demand

Hewlett-Packard is reviving the TouchPad for one last time before its final burial.

HP said limited supplies of TouchPads are coming and it would be a few weeks before they are available. California-based HP will be manufacturing a limited quantity of TouchPads with webOS during its fourth fiscal quarter 2011, which ends Oct. 31.

HP's fire sale on the TouchPad has exhausted inventories in Canada, while the U.S. is still waiting for new stock.

Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand. We don't know exactly when these units will be available or how many we'll get, and we can't promise we'll have enough for everyone. We do know that it will be at least a few weeks before you can purchase, said Mark Budgell, public relations manager at HP, in a blog post.

The tablets will remain at the bargain prices of $99 for the 16GB model and $149 for the 32GB model.

When HP launched its TouchPad tablet 48 days ago, there were no takers for the device, which came at a price of $500 for the 16GB version and $600 for the 32GB version.

HP's TouchPad joined Dell Streak 5 in the tablet graveyard after just seven weeks on shelves as a potential iPad rival. Despite multiple price drops and plenty of hype, the tablet suffered from tepid reviews and the lack of a software ecosystem.

The technology giant initially slashed the price by $100, unable to compete with iPad 2 and other Android rivals. Still, there were no buyers and retailers like Best Buy had more than 200,000 units left unsold.

Now, TouchPads suddenly are selling like hotcakes courtesy HP's $99 clearance sale following its decision to discontinue webOS devices. The moment the news spread, the devices suddenly became hot favorites and inventories were eventually sold out.

Since we announced the price drop, the number of inquiries about the product and the speed at which it disappeared from inventory has been stunning. I think it's safe to say we were pleasantly surprised by the response, Budgell said.

It is still unclear that how many extra tablets HP will produce. A Digitimes report said that the inventory level is capable of producing about 100,000 7-inch TouchPads.

Budgell answered some questions about TouchPad availability:

Q: When is HP getting more HP TouchPads? One week, two weeks, a month?

A limited supply is coming and it will be a few weeks before they are available. As we know more about how, when, and where TouchPads will be available, we will communicate that here and through email to those who requested notification. We can tell you that HP's Small and Medium Business team has sold out of HP TouchPads and will not have more inventory.

Q: Will the notification/alert e-mails go out all at once so everyone has a fair shot?

All those who requested notification have been notified today that more are coming in the future, and will be notified again when more specifics are known.

Q: Please limit stock to one per person: some people are getting 20 and then selling them on Craigslist and eBay for a major profit.

If more inventories are available in the future, there will be an order limit.

Following are the specifications of HP TouchPad: