Why iPad Finally has a serious competitor: HP Touchpad

For the last year, we've seen the Blackberry and Android tablets and heard rumors of an armada of other tablets preparing to blow the iPad out of the water, but the ones that managed to make it to the market have fallen short due to a number of reasons.

However, rather than jumping on the Android bandwagon, Hewlett Packard decided to take an approach out of Apple's playbook.

Here are three reasons why the HP's Touchpad, slated for sale on July 1, will be able to go toe to toe with Apple's iPad:

1. Both hardware and software are in-house
One of the biggest reasons Apple was able to dominate the tablet market is because they have full control over the user experience. This allows them to deliver unique features and great battery life, fewer program glitches and bugs, better security, and the ability to control the app eco system.

The other tablets manufacturers, despite delivering great hardware specs, are unable to deliver a memorable user experience that separates them from the other Android competitors. Most end up offering the same or similar services in an already crowded tablet market, making it difficult to gain a large marketshare.

HP, on the other hand, has been preparing for its unique Touchpad launch since their acquisition of Palm. This enabled them to possess their very own mobile operating system, web OS.

2. Competitive Price: $499
While there are cheaper Android tablets that have come to market, the competitive ones were unable to hit the $499 sweet spot thus far.

Samsung Galaxy Pad original selling price was $649.99 and Motorola Xoom started off with a staggering $799 tag. Yet HP managed to fix the Touchpad's price under 500.

3. HP is Capable of Strong Marketing Campaign
To put in perspective how important image is to Apple's selling strategy, in 2009, Apple spent half a billion on product marketing and nearly three quarters of a billion in 2010.

In 2009, Motorola and Verizon only spent $100 million combined, to market their Droid phone. Exact marketing figures for 2010 fiscal year from Motorola and Samsung are yet to be released.

A strong marketing campaign is crucial for success, and the lack of spending on marketing and advertising was a major problem for tablet makers.

In a recent investor conference, Motorola CEO Sanjay Jha admits the company could have promoted the Xoom and Atrix better. He said It's important to make (the brand) sing a little more in an aspirational way.

To give an idea of HP's marketing spending power, the company spent one billion on advertising last year, and such campaign spending doesn't seem to be declining. HP shows promise that good money will be invested into a strong campaign to advertise the company's newest product, HP Touchpad. They certainly have the resources to make it happen.