HP To Sell TouchPad July 1 for $499

POSTED June 9, 2011

PALO ALTO -- HP today said that the Wi-Fi version of HP TouchPad will be available in the United States beginning on July 1.

HP's first webOS tablet will be available in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France and Germany a few days later and in Canada in mid-July, with availability scheduled to follow later this year in Italy and Spain, as well as in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand and Singapore.

HP TouchPad will be available from U.S. retailers, commercial resellers and direct from HP with the option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage for $499.99 and $599.99, respectively. Preorders in North America and Europe will begin June 19.

"What makes HP TouchPad a compelling alternative to competing products is webOS," said Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager, Palm Global Business Unit, HP. "The platform's unmatched features and flexibility will continue to differentiate HP products from the rest of the market for both personal and professional use. This is only the beginning of what HP's scale can do with webOS."

Optional accessories for HP TouchPad include the HP Touchstone Charging Dock, the HP TouchPad Wireless Keyboard and the HP TouchPad Case (sold separately). HP also announced it will be partnering with AT&T to introduce a connected version of HP TouchPad later this summer.

U.S. retailers and commercial resellers for HP TouchPad will include Best Buy, Staples, Office Depot, Walmart, Sam's Club, OfficeMax, Amazon.com, Fry's, Microcenter, other leading local and regional retailers, and HP's online stores. Specific pricing and availability for HP TouchPad in Canada, France, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom will be announced regionally. Details for Australia, Hong Kong, Italy, New Zealand, Singapore and Spain will be announced at a later date.

HP TouchPad features and specs

  • HP webOS
  • High-speed connectivity with Wi-Fi and data plans. Carriers not announced yet.
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-CPU APQ8060 1.2-GHz processor
  • 9.7-inch diagonal XGA capacitive, multitouch screen with a vibrant, 18-bit color, 1,024 x 768 resolution display
  • The option of either 16 GB or 32 GB of internal storage
  • High-performance browser with full access to the web, including support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 beta for access to rich, Flash-based web content
  • Wireless connectivity:
    • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n with WPA, WPA2, WEP, 802.1X authentication
    • A-GPS (3G only)
    • Bluetooth wireless technology 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
  • Multimedia options, including music, photos, video recording and playback, and a 3.5 mm headset/headphone/microphone jack
    • Internal stereo speakers and Beats Audio
    • Front-facing 1.3-megapixel webcam for live video calling
  • Email, including EAS (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers) and personal email support (Google Gmail push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP)
  • Robust messaging support
  • Light sensor, accelerometer, compass (magnetometer) and gyroscope
  • Rechargeable 6,300 mAh (typical) battery
  • Micro-USB (Charging and PC Connect) with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
  • Built-in HP Touchstone technology for easy charging (HP Touchstone for TouchPad sold separately) and HP touch-to-share to share web addresses between TouchPad and compatible webOS phones
  • Dimensions: 190 mm x 242 mm x 13.7 mm (7.48 inches x 9.53 inches x .54 inches)
  • Weight: approximately 740 g (1.6 pounds)
HP is looking to take on Apple's iPad which is the leading tablet computer currently on sale. With a $499 intro price for the TouchPad, HP is matching Apple on price for its base model.

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