HP: More $99 TouchPads Coming

Hold on to your hats: the Hewlett-Packard (HP) TouchPad tablet firesale isn't over yet. HP recently announced that it's planning to make one more production run of the doomed device, meaning that lots more people will get their chance to buy a $99 tablet PC.

HP created a ton of buzz last week when it knocked hundreds of dollars off its TouchPad tablet, which has been discontinued after only a few months of being on the market.

In an effort to clear out stock, HP cut the price at a number of popular retailers, including Amazon.com and Best Buy. At brick and mortar stores people lined up for hours to get their hands on the already obsolete device.

Total Units to be Available Unknown

For those who waited in those lines, it must be surprising to hear HP say that it still plans another manufacturing cycle of the TouchPad just 11 days after announcing its termination.

Right now the Palo Alto, California-based company says it doesn't know how many more devices will be available or when they'll hit store shelves -- but it confirms that they'll be ready soon enough and that they'll again be $99. (Source: wsj.com)

Overall, it's a note that is sure to revive TouchPad hysteria.

Analysts Confused by $99 TouchPad

Although this will be welcome news for consumers in search of a deal, it's left industry experts puzzled.

Given that it costs HP about $300 to produce each 16GB version of the TouchPad, the company is inevitably going to see a substantial loss with every unit sold. Why the company has decided to produce even more units just doesn't make sense to analysts like Shaw Wu.

"They did a lot of these moves in haste," a confused Wu noted.

The question now becomes: is it worth $99 to buy a doomed tablet PC? The answer may depend on your tech savvyness. Experts at Tested.com found that for those who have the know-how to find user-made applications may get their money's worth when official applications are no longer available. (Source: tested.com)

But unless you really, really want a portable Internet device and can't use a netbook or laptop to perform such functions, it may not be worth the purchase in the end.