Hewlett-Packard (HP) plans to launch a second sales promotion for its 9.7-inch TouchPads in late October in an attempt to clear out inventories of components in the supply chain, according to industry sources.
HP originally released orders for 900,000-1.1 million 9.7-inch TouchPads to Inventec and has taken deliveries of 800,000-900,000 units, said the sources, noting that the shipped TouchPads were nearly all sold out after the vendor slashed the tablet's price to US$99.
In an effort to mend its relationship with component suppliers and channel operators, HP decided to help them clear out inventories, including touch panels, batteries and chassis, equivalent to 100,000-200,000 units of 9.7-inch TouchPads, the sources pointed out.
HP has apparently abandoned its production plan for a 7-inch tablet PC model, with its ODM partner Inventec noting at a recently held investors conference that there will be no more follow-up orders for TouchPads from HP.
