Everything webOS Podcast Episode: 0.5 “We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Podcast “

Despite covering Palm for the better part of the last 10 years (here at everythingpre and prior to that at everythingtreo), we’ve never had a podcast. Given all the madness happening with webOS over the past week, we took time out of our weekly everythingiCafe iPhone podcast to talk about what’s been happening with Palm|HP. Think of it as the everythingpre webOS Podcast Episode #0.5. No punches were pulled during the taping of this podcast. As long as you are not expecting sunshines and rainbows, we’d welcome you to give a listen. The fun starts at the 32 minute mark. Listen below, download direct or pick us up in your favorite store of choice.

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Show Notes:

Hosts:

Christopher Meinck @meinck

Marianne Schultz @emschultz

This Week’s Topics

Dude, where’s my HP TouchPad?

Dude, where's my TouchPad

Did you join the hundreds of thousands of  deal seeking, tablet-hungry consumers flocking to online retailers to purchase the $99 HP TouchPad? Have you received a confirmation or worse yet, an email notifying you that you won’t be getting your TouchPad? We’re seeing reports that OnSale along with Barnes and Noble were retailers guilty of overselling. Our very own orders at HP from late Friday night have yet to ship and Office Max is showing our TouchPad as on backorder. It seems that Best Buy, who was late to the party, was the only retailer to absolutely nail it. Kudos to them and their online inventory system. If you missed out on the initial batch, it does appear that HP is going to have additional stock. Your best bet is to sign up for notifications and you might want to consider following us @everythingpre on Twitter for any in-stock updates.


How was your fire sale experience? Let us know in the comments.

HP Touchstone Charging Dock $39.99, HP TouchPad Case $19.99

We have been waiting for the fire sale to hit official HP TouchPad accessories and Office Depot is the first retailer to oblige. You can pickup the HP Touchstone Charging Dock for $39.99, a savings of $40 off the retail price. The HP TouchPad case is available for $19.99, a savings of $30 off the retail price. These are the lowest prices we’ve seen.

HP TouchPad case

 

UPDATE: Charging dock is available for future order along with case. HP TouchPad Keyboard is still available for $29.99.

HP Touchstone TouchPad Charger $50 Shipped at HP Store

The HP Touchstone TouchPad charger is a bit of luxury accessory when purchased at it’s full retail price of $79.99. This even more so considering the HP TouchPad is priced at a ridiculously low $99. HP has lowered the price on HP TouchPad accessories by 20%, bringing the Touchstone charger to $55.99, with free shipping. If you add coupon code ‘SAVE15HP’, it will shave an additional $15 off the price. It will bring you below the threshold for free shipping, but you can either add paper or enjoy a healthy savings over the retail price. With tax, shipping and discounts, the HP Touchstone Charging Dock can be had for $50 shipped.

HP Touchstone Charging Dock

Finding Cheap HP TouchPad Cases and Accessories

Did you score one of the amazing deals on the HP TouchPad? If so, then congratulations on getting one of the most incredible deals you’ll find in technology. If you’ve got your TouchPad in hand or having it’s being shipped, you should consider purchasing either an HP TouchPad case, TouchPad screen protector or combination of both.

The HP TouchPad is sized just like the iPad 1. With the iPad 2 out, that means that case manufacturers are looking to clear out inventory of the older cases. What’s more, there are a good number of cases available through places like Amazon that are specific for the HP TouchPad. Here are just a few options.

CaseCrown Vertical Neoprene Skin Case for the HP TouchPad
Made specifically for the HP TouchPad, the neoprene case from CaseCrown is light and will protect your TouchPad from scratches. With it’s zipper-less design, it’s easy enough to glide your pad in and out. This case also comes in Palm orange, in case you want to show your old-school support for the company who created webOS.

HP TouchPad accessories

It’s priced at just $6.22, but be prepared to pay $4.99 for shipping. Still, it’s hard to argue with $11.21. It also comes in grey or black.

FLEEC Vertical Padded Case with pocket for TouchPad
Similar to the CaseCrown, the Fleece case is a vertical sleeve. It also includes a front side pocket for USB cables and your charger. This case is priced at $7.93 and also requires $4.99 for shipping.

FLEECE case for TouchPad

CaseCrown Faux Reptile Skin Slip Case
Rounding out our list is the Case Crown Faux Reptile case for the TouchPad, coming in at just $0.01 (plus shipping). That’s just above free. It features a snap enclosure with vertical opening.The inside of the case features a non-scratch cloth material.

Leather case for HP TouchPad

Moving Up The Food Chain

While HP has discounted the TouchPad, the same cannot be said for accessories. If you are looking for genuine HP TouchPad cases and accessories, look no further than the Everything Pre Store. We feature a large selection of both OEM and third party cases.

HP TouchPad case

 

Protecting your screen from scratches and fingerprints
One thing we gleamed during our review was how many fingerprints were left on our device after a short period of time. To combat against this, it’s highly recommended that you pick a screen protector for your HP TouchPad.

HP TouchPad fingerprints

HP's TouchPad was more prone to fingerprints than other tablets tested

Amazon offers the ArmorSuit for $12.95. If you are like me, you’ll add the Carbon Fiber back for $17.95. That will provide you with both protection for scratches and fingerprints.

ArmorShield for HP TouchPad

It’s certainly possible that HP reverse course and start discounting accessories, although it doesn’t seem likely. This weekend brought hundreds of thousands of new TouchPad owners, all looking to accessorize their device. Luckily, there are still plenty of options for cheap deals on HP TouchPad cases and accessories.

HP TouchPad Firesale Underway, $99 for 16GB and $149 for 32GB

HP Firesale
Yesterday, HP said they were getting out of the phone and tablet business. Today they are actively taking steps to liquidate inventory. The result are some amazing prices on both the 16GB and 32GB HP TouchPads, priced at $99 and $149 respectively. This memo was sent out to HP affiliates regarding the sale, which is slated to start tomorrow.

HP will be lowering the price of the TouchPad beginning Saturday 8/20/11. This is the lowest price ever for the TouchPad so please post it as soon as it goes live.

16GB TouchPad- $99; 32GB TouchPad – $149

Best Buy and Future Shop in Canada have already started the sale.

This has to absolutely burn early adopters, as if this week wasn’t bad enough for them. For many, this is an opportunity to grab a nice piece of technology for minimal investment. Those of you who are dumpster diving, but not familiar with the TouchPad, be sure to hit up our HP TouchPad review. Note: This review was based on the $499 price tag and was not updated to reflect improvements in webOS 3.0.2.

So, are you in for one, or two or more?

Source: PreCentral

webOS Will Not Be Saved By Licensing

Bloodletting

Yesterday’s news that HP was ending support for webOS devices, was followed up by a story on This Is My Next that HP is “not walking away from webOS“. For webOS enthusiasts, it was the glimmer of hope that some hardware manufacturer will ride in on a white horse and save the platform. Like Palm before them, HP continued the tradition of feeding a silver lining to the webOS community. Don’t believe it.

Continue Reading …

webOS Is Officially Dead

In a press release today from HP, the  company issued the following statement regarding webOS and more importantly webOS devices:

In addition, HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.

While it might find it’s way into other products, this marks the end to webOS on mobile devices.

HP TouchPad 64GB Sort Of Introduced

Over at PreCentral, they spotted a 64GB white HP TouchPad on HP France’s landing page. The new model features 64GB of storage , a faster 1.5Ghz processor and comes in white. The site lists the new model as ‘coming soon‘ and apparently that’s within the next 1-2 weeks. PreCentral reached out to HP and they provided a statement as to availability.

HP TouchPad 64GB

 

“This week, we have started introducing Pre3 in EMEA, and will also be debuting our 64GB TouchPad in the region. With more memory, a faster processor and available in gloss white, HP is excited to add this product to our TouchPad line and will announce regions and pricing closer to availability.”

Scratching your head as to what’s behind the new Euro-stealth marketing strategy? You are not alone.

Source: HP France via PreCentral

HP Pre 3 Unboxing Video

The HP Pre 3 is alive and shipping, just not here in the US.