Hewlett-Packard Co has cut prices of TouchPad tablet computers by $100 a month after introducing the product, a move that may help the company compete with Apple Inc’s market-leading iPad.
TouchPads cost $399.99 for a 16-gigabyte model and $499.99 for a 32-gigabyte version, according to Hewlett-Packard’s website. The California-based company, in a June 9 statement, said it would charge $499.99 for 16 gigabytes and $599.99 for 32 gigabytes.
Hewlett-Packard had, in July, introduced the TouchPad into a market dominated by the iPad, which generated $6 billion in sales in the last quarter. Price reductions make the TouchPad $100 less expensive than comparable iPad 2 models, which may help the HP tablets draw customers from Apple, said Brian Marshall, an analyst at Gleacher & Co.
“Lowering prices is a decent way to stimulate demand,” said Marshall, who is based in San Francisco and has a $50-price target for Hewlett-Packard shares. Hewlett-Packard should have priced the TouchPad below the iPad when it introduced the tablet last month, Marshall said. “To have a product that’s new to the market come out at the same level as the iPad offerings doesn’t make much sense.”
Hewlett-Packard’s shares gained $1.27, or 4.1 per cent, to $32.32 at 4 pm on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has dropped 23 per cent this year.
Hewlett-Packard, in an e-mailed statement, said it “continually evaluates pricing for its products and is pleased to permanently extend its back-to-school promotion on the HP TouchPad.”