Could an Amazon tablet make it big time for non-iOS tablets?

Rumor has it that Amazon is planning an Android based tablet, with a price somewhere between $249 and $299. Given the failure of HP’s entry into the tablet space with the WebOS powered TouchPad, Amazon may be gambling in a market currently dominated by Apple and it’s iPad. However, given Amazon already is the leader in eBooks and eReader hardware with it’s wildly successful Kindle, this could be the stepping stone to further success with a more fully featured tablet, rather than the one trick eReader.

To be successful the price could make or break Amazon’s new tablet – HP cancelled their TouchPad because it wasn’t selling, but when the price was lowered to $99 to clear stock it flew off the shelves. This must have been some surprise to HP since more recently an HP exec has said that they may be thinking of resurrecting the dead device for another attempt, presumably starting off at a lower price point.

$99 HP TouchPads find the sweetspot

Despite being cancelled by HP and knowing that there won’t be any future upgrades or support, with the price lowered to $99 to clear the remaining unsold stock the TouchPads have been flying off the shelves.

The reason the product wasn’t selling wasn’t the product itself, it’s just that it was priced too high. With a lower price, and even despite the fact that the product has been discontinued with no future support or upgrades, the $99 price point for a tablet has the things flying off the shelves. That has to be a marketing lesson for someone…

End of the road for HP’s WebOS based devices

It’s sad when a company or their products fail because inevitably it means it’s the end of the road for a legacy of other products that were developed along the way. Since HP bought Palm and their PalmOS successor, WebOS, their decision to end development in WebOS and WebOS products means the end of the road for the evolution of Palm too.

That’s sad because PalmOS based products were years ahead of anyone else at the time, and made the PDA and crossover PDA to smartphone market viable (who uses the term PDA anymore?).

I had a number of Palm devices, starting from a US Robotics Palm Pilot, a Palm Pilot III, Palm V, and a Palm VII – for their time they were awesome devices.