Just yesterday, HP finally let slip pricing and availability for the HP TouchPad tablet, which we now know will hit stores July 1. In terms of competition, HP is top-dog when it comes to PCs, but thus far, Apple has dominated the tablet market. The question now is, will HP’s TouchPad finally create a true, aggressive competitor for the iPad?
To be honest, we have no idea, although we do think that the webOS-powered slate is pretty sweet. Mark Moskowitz of JP Morgan, on the other hand, thinks that consumers don’t share the same enthusiasm we do when it comes to the TouchPad, at least not enough to pull them away from Apple’s iPad 2. “While we expect HP’s webOS platform to be a differentiating factor compared to the many Android tablets expected to reach the market, we do not think the price points on the TouchPad are aggressive enough to attract the incremental buyer from the iPad,” wrote Moskowitz, in a note to investors.
And the TouchPad cost isn’t all the analyst was disappointed by. “The lack of wireless connectivity and limited storage options are a setback,” he added. “We will look to additional data points as the TouchPad hits the market in coming weeks, but for now, we are lukewarm.”
[via BGR]