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Consumer Electronics

HP TouchPad

HP's well-reviewed webOS tablet launched into the iPad's shadow with no app ecosystem, sold dismally, and was killed 49 days later.

Failed launch Discontinued Moderate
Company
HP
Started
2011
Ended
2011
Days from launch to discontinuation
49
Collapse speed
Sudden
Preventability
High
Lesson transfer
Industry-wide
Last reviewed
2026-07-22

Narrative

The story

The ambition

The TouchPad was HP's bid to make webOS, the elegant operating system it had bought with Palm, the heart of a competitive tablet, and to give the iPad a genuine rival.

The rise

It launched to respectable reviews and the backing of the world's largest PC maker, with the resources to mount a serious challenge.

The cracks

It arrived priced against the iPad 2 but without an app ecosystem, because developers had not built for webOS. Sales were dismal, a small fraction of the units shipped actually sold.

The collapse

Just 49 days after launch, amid heavy webOS losses and a corporate strategy reversal, HP discontinued the TouchPad. A $99 fire sale then cleared the inventory within hours.

The aftermath

The fire sale showed demand existed only far below the launch price, and it nudged later budget tablets toward $199. HP eventually offloaded webOS. The TouchPad became a byword for launching hardware with no ecosystem behind it.

The lessons

A great device is not a platform. Entering a market the incumbent dominates, at its price, without the apps customers expect, leaves nothing to compete on, and corporate whiplash on top of that can end a product before it has a chance.

Causal timeline

Failure Anatomy

  1. 2011-07

    Launches against the iPad 2

    HP launched the TouchPad on July 1, 2011, priced from about $499, running webOS. [1]

    No real demand
  2. 2011-08

    Sales collapse amid a thin app store

    Dismal sales, a small fraction of inventory moved, as the platform lacked apps. [2] [3]

    No real demandPlatform dependency
  3. 2011-08

    Discontinued after 49 days

    On August 18, 2011, HP discontinued the TouchPad and its webOS devices. [4]

    Strategic drift
  4. 2011-08

    The $99 fire sale

    A $99 fire sale cleared inventory in hours, demand existed only far below the launch price. [5]

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Structured analysis

What Went Wrong

Root causes

Priced against the iPad with no reason to switch. The TouchPad cost about as much as an iPad 2 while offering buyers far less. [1] [2]

No app ecosystem. Developers had not built for webOS, leaving the TouchPad without the apps buyers expected. [3]

Contributing factors

HP's abrupt exit from webOS. A corporate strategy reversal led HP to kill its webOS devices within weeks. [4]

Immediate trigger

HP kills its webOS devices. Amid heavy losses and a strategy shift, HP discontinued the TouchPad about 49 days after launch. [4]

Visible symptoms

A fraction of units sold. HP reportedly sold only about 25,000 of 270,000 units, with retailers unable to move most stock. [2]

Warning signs

Couldn't match the iPad on apps. The thin webOS app library was evident against the iPad's mature ecosystem. [3]

Affected groups

CustomersEmployeesInvestors

Keep reading

  • Palm, Inc.

    The company whose webOS and Pre this case's story starts with, acquired by HP in 2010 the year before the TouchPad's 49-day death.

Evidence

Claims & sources

Every numbered marker in the analysis links to the claim it rests on, and each claim to its sources.

  1. [1]

    HP launched the TouchPad, a webOS tablet, on July 1, 2011, priced from about $499 against Apple's iPad 2.

    High Fact HP TouchPad (Wikipedia) The Great HP Fire Sale of 2011
  2. [2]

    TouchPad sales were dismal. HP reportedly sold only about 25,000 of 270,000 units, and retailers could not move most of their stock.

    High Fact HP TouchPad (Wikipedia) The Great HP Fire Sale of 2011 HP TouchPad Unsold Stock Mountain Prompts Best Buy Ire
  3. [3]

    The TouchPad lacked a competitive app ecosystem, because developers had not built for webOS.

    Moderate Reported explanation HP TouchPad (Wikipedia) The Great HP Fire Sale of 2011 HP Touchpad tablet plummets to $99, sells like gangbusters Seven lessons from the HP Touchpad fire sale
  4. [4]

    About 49 days after launch, on August 18, 2011, HP discontinued the TouchPad and its webOS devices.

    High Fact HP TouchPad (Wikipedia) The Great HP Fire Sale of 2011 HP Touchpad tablet plummets to $99, sells like gangbusters
  5. [5]

    A $99 fire sale cleared TouchPad inventory within hours (with reports of ~350,000 sold in a weekend), showing demand existed only far below the launch price.

    High Fact HP TouchPad (Wikipedia) The Great HP Fire Sale of 2011 HP Touchpad tablet plummets to $99, sells like gangbusters Seven lessons from the HP Touchpad fire sale

Sources