HP Touchpad sales problems: Best Buy left with massive stock

All Things D have reported that Best Buy have almost 250,000 Touchpads sitting in their stockrooms. Reports are showing that only 25,000 units have sold so far.

All Things D have said that ‘sources familiar with the matter' have passed over information on the flagging sales figures.

The report also says that Best Buy are understandably not too happy with the situation. The company have apparently asked Hewlett Packard to take back some of the unsold tablets so they can clear stock room for other items.

Latest information details that HP executives are on route to Best Buy HQ to persuade the retail giant to give the Touchpad more time.

The pricing seems to be dropping also, as HP dropped the initial price tags by $50 two weeks ago. Last week they dropped the price by another $50. There are conflicting views on the price drops however.

Rich Doherty from Envisioneering Group spoke to All Things D saying “After the initial surge of interest after the July release, all those price promotions have caused consumers interested in buying a TouchPad to pause because they think the price is going to fall further.”

Reviews of the TouchPad have been luke warm:

Techradar say “Performance is sluggish. It's not as bad as the worst budget tablets around, certainly, and not all of the time, but it's often enough that it doesn't come across that well for its price point.” scoring it 3 out of 5 stars.

CNET say “The HP TouchPad is up against some serious challengers in its bid to become the titan of tablets. It has some mighty weapons at its disposal, in the form of an attractive user interface, top-notch speakers, and a cracking Web browser. But it will suffer some mortal wounds due to its lack of apps, poor battery life, chubby plastic case and occasionally flaky software.” scoring it 2.5 stars out of 5.

Engadget say “If the Pre 3 were out today and if the TouchPad were $100 less we could maybe see giving it a go, if only to root for the underdog. But, as it is, you have to put your heart and two decades worth of Palm obsession ahead of any buying rationale. With such compelling alternatives readily available, that's asking rather a lot.”

It would appear that the success of the Apple iPad is also having a knock on effect for the TouchPad, with consumers unwilling to take a risk on a ‘new brand' of tablet.

Kitguru says: All hopes seem to lie with Amazon, as they are soon to release their tablet targeting the iPad.

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