$99 HP Touchpad

[bonoriffic]

Kind of disappointed in my Touchpad. I went with HP because I do not like how Apple products have to have special everything to work. Well, I guess I should have done my research because the HP Touchpad requires you to download music to it through HP Play which asks that you have an ITunes account and to put movies on it, they have to be in the format that an IPad uses MPEG-$ or .m4v

To copy music, videos, or photos to your TouchPad you do NOT need HP Play or iTunes. Simply plug your TouchPad into your computer using the supplied USB cable. Drag and drop your files from your computer onto the TouchPad. You are done! Video showing you these simple steps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8C5CN7vTQ

Using HP Play is only for those who have been brainwashed into thinking iTunes is useful. It makes your music sync with iTunes. I would suggest not doing this, the whole point of not having an Apple product is being free of the nightmare that is iTunes.

As to movies, the TouchPad supports H.263 and H.264 which is the standard for portable video. Every device supports MP4. If you have movies in other formats, you can easily convert to MP4. I'm not really sure of another format that would even be useful to display HD and keep the file size low.

 

[pyrxtc]

To copy music, videos, or photos to your TouchPad you do NOT need HP Play or iTunes. Simply plug your TouchPad into your computer using the supplied USB cable. Drag and drop your files from your computer onto the TouchPad. You are done! Video showing you these simple steps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MX8C5CN7vTQ

Using HP Play is only for those who have been brainwashed into thinking iTunes is useful. It makes your music sync with iTunes. I would suggest not doing this, the whole point of not having an Apple product is being free of the nightmare that is iTunes.

As to movies, the TouchPad supports H.263 and H.264 which is the standard for portable video. Every device supports MP4. If you have movies in other formats, you can easily convert to MP4. I'm not really sure of another format that would even be useful to display HD and keep the file size low.

Sorry, I have windows on everything so all of my digital movies are in .wmv format to watch easier and much smaller files. When going to the "how to" site for HP, it says to download HP Play and to have ITunes installed to use it. I did not add it to my computer since my DD does have an IPod but that's how it moved over.

I am just following the online directions. Also to get the movies converted on my, and most programs I found, you convert it to IPad format. None of the other formats work for the Touchpad.

 

[bonoriffic]

Sorry, I have windows on everything so all of my digital movies are in .wmv format to watch easier and much smaller files. When going to the "how to" site for HP, it says to download HP Play and to have ITunes installed to use it. I did not add it to my computer since my DD does have an IPod but that's how it moved over.

I am just following the online directions. Also to get the movies converted on my, and most programs I found, you convert it to IPad format. None of the other formats work for the Touchpad.

WMV is Windows proprietary. MP4 isn't iPad format, it is simply the standard for portable video. Every device uses MP4, it wasn't invented by Apple. (Which is why people use it) Movies will be much smaller in MP4 compared to WMV when compared at the same resolution. WMV for high resolution video will look better, but the size is huge. Most people prefer the slight picture quality loss for significantly smaller files. Now when you convert the movie it may have an iPad setting, but that is just using specific settings known to work well. Those settings are: 720x480 resolution with a data rate of 6000kbps or less. If you can set the audio, use AAC of 16 bit stereo at 48 Khz. (Now you know why programs just have an iPad setting, easier than knowing those values)

I can see why HP put their stupid HP Play on their tutorial site. They want people to get trapped into their system the same way Apple traps people with iTunes. Just plug the TouchPad in to a USB port, and drag and drop. Faster and easier with no extra software to install.

To convert WMV to MP4 just google that. Hundreds of free options available, I'm not sure what people use to convert stuff these days so I won't recommend one. (Some seem like scams to get you to buy a product)

 

[eeyorefan67]

This email is for people on the contact me when available list....

I got the same email to....I agree it's for the contact me when more TP are/were available. I was hoping the email was from HP that my TP was finally shipped out.

With all the waiting, I'm not as excited about getting my TP as I was at first.

 

[bonoriffic]

The email is for people who signed up for notifications. Which I did, but never got the email anyway.

http://h20435.www2.hp.com/t5/The-Next-Bench-Blog/More-TouchPads-on-the-Way/ba-p/68749

 

[A Mickeyfan]

OK.. I got a different letter.. this is what I got....



Hello,

I placed my order online. How do I confirm that it was received?

For orders placed after 4am CT on Monday 22nd August, US SMB had already Sold Out of HP TouchPad and had posted this on our SMB webstore. Due to this overwhelming response to webOS, we are unable to fulfill these orders and they have been cancelled. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card, no actual charges have been made and this reserve hold will be released now that the order has been cancelled.

If you placed an order prior to 4am CT Monday, August 22, we are working through the large volume of orders, verifying payment details and seeking to source inventory for fulfillment. This process is taking longer than first anticipated. At this time, we cannot guarantee supply to all these orders but are working to supply as many orders as possible. If you saw a reserve hold for the amount of your order on your credit card and your order cannot be fulfilled, no actual charges have been made, and this reserve hold will be released if the order is cancelled.

You can check your order status here. If your order is not recognized, please check your order status again the next business day. When inventory has been allocated the status will change to “shipped.” Please note that planned ship and delivery dates on the order status page are not accurate for TouchPad orders. You can only be certain that we have identified a unit to fulfill your order once the order status shows a shipment tracking number.


Sincerely,

Your HP Small and Medium Business Team
TouchPad FAQs: www.hp.com/go/touchpadFAQ


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When I clicked "here", my delivery date was updated to a ship out date of 9/4 and delivery of 9/7. Today was supposed to have been the original delivery date. I do remember though speaking with the customer service rep & she said not to go by any of those dates, not until I have an actual tracking number.


I just checked my credit card online and HP has placed another "pending" status on my credit card.. however, it is for the charge of $888.95, which is for more that what the original confirmation email was for, and that was incorrect. That confirmation had the incorrect taxes as well as shipping on it. The original pending was for

794.00
Freight: 44.63
Estimated Tax: 47.64
Order Total: 886.27

and that is incorrect as well.. I wonder what they actually plan on charging me..

 

[dodukes]

For those of us that didn't get in on this deal in time... I just got this email from HP (unique code removed):

Dear Customer,

Thank you for your interest in the HP TouchPad and webOS. The overwhelming demand for this product in recent days has made it difficult to fulfill your request at the present time, and we are working to make more available as soon as possible. While we do not yet have specific details, we know it will be at least a few weeks before we have a limited quantity available again. We will keep you informed as we have more specifics that we can communicate, and we encourage you to join the conversation here for the latest information.

In light of this and other recent HP news, we want you to know that we remain committed to you. We will continue to honor our warranties now and in the future. We will continue delivering products that make a difference in your life and we will continue to provide the best possible service to you every day.

We are grateful for your patience and loyalty and to show our gratitude, we are offering you an exclusive one-time opportunity to save an additional amount on all of our products, valid through the end of the day tomorrow, Wednesday, August 31, 2011. You'll save 25% off all printers, ink, HP accessories, and PCs starting at or above $599. To take advantage of this offer, use your unique coupon code XXXXXXXXX at checkout, and for more information on the details of this offer, please look at the bottom of this email.

Sincerely,

hpdirect.com​

If anybody wants the code from the HP email , PM me, I wont be using it.

 

[espana94]

"HP says it will manufacture "one last run" of TouchPads, but it is not saying yet whether they will be sold at the deeply discounted price of $99 or closer to their original price of $499 for the 16 GB model..."

Link to the full story -- http://gadgetbox.msnbc.msn.com/_new...to-make-one-more-batch-of-touchpads?gt1=43001

Don't know what that means for people who are still waiting for their shipment or who are on a waiting list to buy the TP.

 

[granmanh603]

I got cancel notice finally...soo sad.

 

[satorifound]

I got cancel notice finally...soo sad.

What time did you order?

 

[granmanh603]

What time did you order?

sorry I was traveling from my daughters to home.... I ordered during the glich I really don't know exactly because I did not get a order confirm until after they canceled the first time....I think it was like Aug 23 around noon? but when they sent the order confirmation they changed the time and date to Aug 24..but I have been able to access it online and track it..and it updated daily.. last on Aug 31 yesterday morning with it in Admin I alloted B/O 1 with ship (early in Am date to follow) on Aug 31 later in morning...then in afternoon I could no longer access the online order status...bummer.... some said not to worry til later in the week that they were updating the orders???? I don't care if I have to wait..but who knows I am going to check now and see if anyone else got any info...

 

[lovintennessee]

My credit card has been showing a pending amount from HP for the past two days. The first pending amount dropped off last week. Fingers crossed it will ship soon.

 

[eeyorefan67]

My credit card has been showing a pending amount from HP for the past two days. The first pending amount dropped off last week. Fingers crossed it will ship soon.

Same thing happened to me. My delivery date is today but no info from HP that the TP has been shipped.

 

[sdchickie]

My Aunt just picked me one up today from the Aarons in Florida, of cource shipping it to me cost $40 so there goes some of the savings. Still a great deal!

 

[lovintennessee]

Same thing happened to me. My delivery date is today but no info from HP that the TP has been shipped.

At least I know I am not alone. I hope we both get shipping notifications soon or better yet they just show up on our doorstep.

 

[AllesonWonderland]

EEK!! Got an email this morning that my credit card had been declined! (I think what happened is I used a shopsafe number when I ordered--the first pending charge showed up fine, but when they tried to reauthorize it, it got kicked back because my card thought it had already been used for that purchase.) Called and gave them a different number altogether, the main line was a long wait, so I called the other and the gentleman told me he'd get it over to customer service for me. (Think I may still call back later and make sure everything's good.)

While I had him on the phone, I asked if since it was charging again if that meant it would ship soon. He said they automatically reauthorize ever 7-15 days, so not necessarily. BUT, he went on to say they were expecting a 'pretty big shipment' next week, so it's possible it could go out then. Otherwise, it would be 6-8 weeks. I told him I didn't care how long it took, as long as I got one. He told me I'd definitely get one. We'll see!

 

[eeyorefan67]

At least I know I am not alone. I hope we both get shipping notifications soon or better yet they just show up on our doorstep.

I have no idea what's going on with HP . HP again changed the delivery date to today Sept. 2. I wish HP woul send some kind of email explaining whats going on with my order. HP has a hold on my CC again and have not fixed the amount or waved the fee for shipping.

 

[espana94]

I have no idea what's going on with HP . HP again changed the delivery date to today Sept. 2. I wish HP woul send some kind of email explaining whats going on with my order. HP has a hold on my CC again and have not fixed the amount or waved the fee for shipping.

I called and spoke to a sales rep today because I wasn't seeing any movement on my order. Here's today's "official line" which I am totally taking with a huge grain of salt...nontheless, here ya go:

1. HP will be sending an email out to everyone who has an existing order waiting to be fulfilled.

2. HP has 25,000 units currently in inventory which will be shipping out soon (No real word on what defines "soon.")

3. The 25,000 in inventory will be released in chronological order, i.e., first orders in, first orders out. The guy I spoke to said he had no way of knowing where my order stood in the queue.

4. HP will be manufacturing 50,000 additional touch pads. Those will be used to fulfill any outstanding orders that were not fulfilled with the original 25,000 units. Those units will be sold at the $99 price point + free ground shipping. Wait time for the additional 50,000 will be a minimum of 6 - 8 weeks.

5. If anyone should decide they are no longer interested in a TP, there will be a link provided in the email HP is sending out that you can use to cancel your order.

6. Once all of the outstanding confirmed orders are fulfilled, HP will release any remaining product to people who were highest up on the waiting lists. The HP rep did not indicate what the price would be on the TPs at that time. (That was the only time I felt he was kind of evasive with me...As if he knew they might raise the price but didn't want to tell me that outright.)

Again, I am taking all of this with a HUGE grain of salt; but, I thought I would share what I was told today.

Good Luck everyone! I hope we all get our TPs eventually!

 

[bonoriffic]

I called and spoke to a sales rep today because I wasn't seeing any movement on my order. Here's today's "official line" which I am totally taking with a huge grain of salt...nontheless, here ya go:

1. HP will be sending an email out to everyone who has an existing order waiting to be fulfilled.

This is in line with what HP has said on Twitter yesterday, supposed to get the email in next 24 hours. Which I kinda doubt will happen as it is a long holiday weekend.

http://twitter.com/#!/BrynaAtHP

 

[lovintennessee]

The price was adjusted on my order today. This is the first movement I have seen on my account. Keeping my fingers crossed for all of us.