HP Fire Sale on TouchPad Ignites Weekend Buying Binge

HP's HPQ decision to shutter its WebOS line of portable gadgets inspired a weekend scramble to buy the deeply-discounted TouchPad tablet, as consumers flooded online retailers and waited in lines outside brick and mortar stores. At $99 for the 16GB version, which was previously priced at $499 and then $399, consumers across the country were clearly attracted to the cheap price on expensive hardware. HP also offered a 32GB version of the tablet for $150. The weekend fire sale comes just days after HP announced that it was looking to sell or spin-off its less-profitable Personal Systems Group, which sells consumer electronics. The company will instead focus on higher-margin software and services. Investors didn't appear to take the news well late last week, as shares tumbled 20% on Friday. Trading above $48 in February, the stock now sits below $24. Agam Shah of Computer World notes that "The TouchPad models cleared out by early [Saturday] morning at the Best Buy and Staples stores in New York City's Union Square, salespeople at the stores said. A salesman at Best Buy said that buyers were streaming in overnight to buy the tablets and were attracted by the price of the TouchPads. .." Many retailers online saw online traffic jump as consumers moved quickly to seize on the discounted tablets. Despite the unknown future of the device's software, the tablet still holds of many of the same features as competitors. The decision to close the WebOS line of devices was a quick end to HP's $1.2 billion investment in Palm last year. In addition to the TouchPad tablet, the company produced several smartphones.