CHESSNOID

We all know the HP Touchpad sold out after the prices collapsed from $499 to $99 overnight.  I think there were some flippers looking for a quick profit, but I think many wanted a quality ipad alternative for cheap.  Seriously, many people spend more for a cell phone with or without a contract.

Now there are rumors that in the last quarter of 2011, Amazon will have 7 and 10 inch tablets (Coyote and Hollywood, respectively named) coming out and that they will cost hundreds less than the ipad which is in the $499 price range.  Based on how fast the HP Touchpads disappeared from retail outlets at the $99 price range, industry experts think Amazon will have a real chance of competing in the tablet market.

I think it will depend on what the tablet has to offer.  We already have $100 android tablets that sell  but they are not well reviewed.  The most common complaints I have read are that they are slow.  That is one of the main difference between the HP Touchpad (16 GB) and standard $100 google tablets (2 GB) is the memory capacity.

I have been tempted to buy one of these google tablets, but if you start looking at the higher end tablets, they seem to be coming down in price.  You can buy a new 16 GB name brand tablet ViewSonic gTablet with 10″ Multi-Touch LCD Screen for $250 on Amazon right now, which is pretty close to the HP Touchpad specs. It has almost 450 reviews averaging about 3.5 out of 5 stars.

After the HP tablet fell to $99, I have become a serious buyer for a new tablet.  I will probably wait till after the new year and will sell a few of my old gadgets to justify the purchase.  There are times when I do play games on my android phone that I wish the screen was bigger.