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.
- 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
- 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 - 2011-08
- 2011-08
Discontinued after 49 days
On August 18, 2011, HP discontinued the TouchPad and its webOS devices. [4]
Strategic drift - 2011-08
The $99 fire sale
A $99 fire sale cleared inventory in hours — demand existed only far below the launch price. [5]
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
Evidence
Claims & sources
Every numbered marker in the analysis links to the claim it rests on, and each claim to its sources.
- [1]
HP launched the TouchPad, a webOS tablet, on July 1, 2011, priced from about $499 against Apple's iPad 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.
- [3]
The TouchPad lacked a competitive app ecosystem, because developers had not built for webOS.
- [4]
About 49 days after launch, on August 18, 2011, HP discontinued the TouchPad and its webOS devices.
- [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.
Sources
HP TouchPad — Wikipedia
Wikipedia
The Great HP Fire Sale of 2011
MIT Technology Review · 2011-08-25