HP TouchPad tablets have been hard to come by since the company canceled the product and marked down the price to $99 for a 16GB model and $149 for a 32GB version. HP has promised that it will have some more in stock soon, although it’s likely they’ll sell out quickly and then you’ll never see the tablet for sale on HP.com again. But it looks like you might also be able to pick one up from a Best Buy store this week.
A tipster sent Droid Matters a picture of a Best Buy inventory screen suggesting that the tablets will be back in stock soon and that the company will be using a ticketing system for customers to help avoid large crowds. The idea is that you can go into a store and sign up to be notified when the tablets are in stock.
It’s not clear how many units will be available or if all Best Buy locations will have TouchPads to sell. But it looks like you might not have to resort to paying $200 ore more on eBay to get your hands on one just yet.
The HP TouchPad features a 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual core processor, a 9.7 inch, 1024 x 768 pixel capacitive touchscreen display, and runs webOS 3.0 software. Hackers have also figured out how to run Ubuntu Linux on the tablet, and several projects are underway to port Android to run on the TouchPad.
In fact, at least two units were sold with Android preloaded. These were probably used for testing purposes by HP, Qualcomm, or someone else involved in the production of the tablet, and accidentally boxed up and shipped out with Android instead of webOS. One user shared a system dump from his tablet, which could help independent developers figure out a way to let anyone install Android on HP’s tablet.
I just picked up the Nook Color (160.00 for refurbished) and it is like new. I really didn’t expect much. But, I love this little tablet. I like it just like it is, with just the apps in the Nook Market alone, this is a wonderful buy. And with the ability (N2ACards) insert a dual booting SD card you will have a fully functional Android Gingerbread tablet, with the full Market. No need to root or void your warranty by using this card (or ones like it). 20bucks.
Now, the final thing: I knew ahead of time that I would HATE the 7 inch form factor of the NookColor (vs the nearly 10 inch screen of the Touchpad)… I was mistaken… This little tablet is so handy, I am taking it everywhere. I am also getting a Touchpad and will compare, but I think I will only be keeping my Android loving nook!
I too am over the TouchPad even at $99.00. I have ask Santa for a Thrive for my B-Day and Xmas which are the same day 🙁
Im kind of over this, just looking forward to the nook color im getting in a couple days, only cost 170 with a one year warranty, i just dont have the motivation or transportation to try and get one of these