Sixteen months following Hewlett-Packard’s acquisition of Palm and just two months after launching the first webOS tablet, HP is giving up. The decision to axe webOS certainly wasn’t made lightly, and numerous factors undoubtedly contributed to the tech giant’s ultimate decision to put an end to its efforts with the TouchPad and other webOS hardware. Near the top of HP’s list, however, was likely the tablet’s sell-through rate. A report from earlier this week claimed that Best Buy, the nation’s top consumer electronics retailer, couldn’t even sell 10% of its TouchPad inventory despite a huge advertising campaign and a $100 price drop. But did HP jump the gun? A new Best Buy promotion might reveal what could have been a great way to move that TouchPad inventory: give it away. Beginning Saturday, customers who purchase a $1,500 Samsung 3D HDTV, model UN46D6900W, will get a free Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet with their purchase. Coincidentally, Best Buy also carries a $1,500 HP ENVY 2070nr Core i7 laptop, and what better way to boost those sell-through numbers than to hand TouchPads out with purchases like ketchup packets at a ballpark? Best Buy’s Galaxy Tab 10.1 deal will run for one week, ending on the 27th.
Samsung shows HP how to 'sell' tablets
Updated Dec 19th, 2018 7:26PM EST
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Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 15 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.
His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.
