In a statement this afternoon, HP has announced the Australian TouchPad will receive a big price drop before it goes on sale locally next Monday.
Up until today, the company had refused to disclose whether or not the TouchPad would be subject to the same price drops seen in the United States over the past few days. However HP has now confirmed that pricing will be reduced from $599 for the 16GB model to $499, and from $699 to $599 for the 32GB model in Australia when it becomes available through Harvey Norman and its own online store from Monday, 15th August.
“HP continually evaluates pricing for its products and is pleased to offer a permanently reduced price on the HP TouchPad products effective immediately,” a spokesperson for the company said. “This move will help bring the HP TouchPad and webOS to a larger audience, benefitting consumers and developers.”
HP overnight confirmed a fall in the price of the tablet in the United States was to be made permanent, with the 16GB model now retailing for $US399 and the 32GB edition $US499.
It means the TouchPad will be one of the cheapest tablets available in the Australian market, with pricing well below that of Apple’s iPad 2, which starts at $579 for the Wi-Fi only model, and the Toshiba Tablet which launched last month for $579 as well.
However the TouchPad, which runs the company’s own webOS operating system, has so far failed to impress early reviewers, with many saying the lack of 3G capabilities, minimal apps and slow speeds leave the device hamstrung by the likes of Apple’s iPad, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab and Motorola’s Xoom alternatives.
Image credit: HP
US$399 converts to $388 Australian dollars.
Do they actually want to sell any in Australia?
Ipad US $499 AUS $579 should be $485….. Your point ?
I bought two yesterday from Harvey Norman for a $A148.00 each.
I am very happy with it so far. It has everything I need.
Comments are closed.