H-P Tablet Sells After Price Is Cut

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s decision to drop the price to as low as $99 for its TouchPad tablets touched off a weekend buying rush that the company called "overwhelming."
The sudden interest came after H-P said it was discontinuing its tablet and smartphone efforts, after disappointing sales and unfavorable comparisons to Apple Inc.'s iPad and iPhone. H-P cut the price of its least-expensive TouchPad to $99.99 from $499.99. The price on a greater-capacity version was reduced to $149.99 from $599.99.
The Palo Alto, Calif., company said it is still exploring alternatives for webOS, the well-regarded software that powered the TouchPad.
H-P's decision to jettison remaining inventory at rock-bottom prices instantly became the talk of the technology press. Blog posts were quickly published with rolling updates containing lists of stores and online sites where the device was still available.
Demand was so heavy that by Sunday, the website slickdeals.com was filled with "sold out" notices in red next to such popular retailers as Amazon.com, B&H Foto, Fry's Electronics, Target and Walmart.
A saleswoman at a Best Buy Co. store in San Francisco said all the TouchPads in the Bay Area were sold out by Saturday night.
Eager customers scouring retailers turned their attention to stores that hadn't yet dropped the TouchPad's price, and reported multiple calls with sales representatives and methods for getting the price reduced. "If you buy at full price, they will price match in 10 days to their own store if price drops," a person wrote about Barnes & Noble Inc. The retailer still was charging $407.95 for the TouchPad, of which slickdeals estimated there were 14,000 in stock. Barnes & Noble wasn't available for comment.
Other consumers debated whether the device was a good value even at the lower price. "They are utterly worthless now," a person commented on a cnet.com article about the sale. "Amen," responded another.
Others disagreed, starting a Twitter campaign called "#saveWebOS" with pleas to keep the platform going and tweets from customers who had been awaiting H-P's next generation smartphones and tablets. "My dreams are dashed," said a Twitter user who called herself Cheryl. "Thanks (for nothing) @HP."
—Justin Scheck contributed to this article.

Millennials Watch More TV Online

Young media consumers -- Millennials -- continue to consume much more television related to online, and less traditional television than other viewing groups.
Only 26% of millennials -- typically those in the 18-29 age group -- watch more than 20 hours a week of TV, versus older viewing groups where 49% of those viewers watch 20-plus hours a week. These are among the results of a study conducted by Kansas City-based marketing company, Barkley, in partnership with Service Management Group and The Boston Consulting Group.

Millennials are much more likely to watch shows mainly on their laptops -- 42% versus 18% for other viewers; on DVR playback -- 40% versus 36%; or via video-on-demand -- 26% versus 18% for other viewing groups.
Largely as a result of TV marketing and other efforts, millennials -- more than older consumers -- are aware of youth-targeted cause campaigns. For example, the study says that for Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty, their awareness level was 33% versus 21% for everyone else. Gap's RED campaign earned a 26% number for millennials versus 9% for other consumers.
Much of this activity comes from greater exposure to campaigns through social media -- 40% versus 22% for other consumers -- and online news, 28% versus 22%.
"Since the Millennials generation is larger than the Baby Boomers and three times bigger than Generation X, marketers' understanding of Millennials' needs, tastes and behaviors will clearly shape current and future business decisions," says Jeff Fromm, senior vice president, Barkley, in a release.
The survey was based on more than 5,000 respondents and 3.9 million data points.

Tablets, Smartphones Changing Media Consumption

Tablets and iPhones are fundamentally changing the way people get their entertainment, and they may eventually make those DVD players, GPS and other single-use electronic devices obsolete.

According to a new survey of more than 1,400 consumers by research agency Chadwick Martin Bailey (CMB), people are using their smartphones and tablets for a variety of entertainment outlets, from games to watching movies and television. According to the research, more than half of smartphone and tablet users play games on their device. As a result, nearly two-thirds of tablet owners are using other devices (particularly portable gaming devices) less for this purpose.
Similarly, two-thirds of tablet owners are using their devices to watch feature-length movies. With further tablet adoption, the stand-alone DVD player may become obsolete, says Chris Neal, vice president of CMB's tech and telecom practice. With just over a quarter (26%) of U.S. adults saying they expect to purchase a tablet in the coming year, that development could come relatively quickly, he says.
"As people get more tablets, these devices are an endangered species," Neal tells Marketing Daily. "Those specialty devices do one application really, really well. Now you've got a device that does multiple things."
Even worse are the prospects for stand-alone GPS systems. According to the research, 80% of tablet and smartphone owners have used their devices for mapping and directions. Of these users, nearly 90% of them said they are using other methods such as a standard GPS less. "Some, like TomTom, have already placed their bets and said they're not a device manufacturer anymore -- they're making software only," Neal says. "It will be one of many [GPS-type] apps on an iPhone or iPad."
For every downside, however, there is an upside. On the whole, the increasing prevalence of tablets is leading to more content consumption overall, the agency reports. "The majority of tablet owners are watching full-length movies, TV shows, in addition to standard Web videos," Neal says. "It's carving into standard TV time a bit, but it's increasing the amount of time people are watching in general, which is good for media companies."