Bill Huey, Strategic Communications, Atlanta (8/31):
A story in today's Wall Street Journal carries strong implications that H-P may be the dumbest high-tech company in the industry.
According to the Journal, H-P said it will "temporarily resume manufacturing of its ill-fated tablet computer just 11 days after killing its iPad rival as part of a sweeping corporate overhaul."
Apparently, H-P dropped the price of the discontinued TouchPad to $99, creating a storm of demand. That caused the company to reconsider its decision to kill the struggling rival to the iPad. "Look, people want them after all!", H-P marveled, and announced it was producing a second run.
Only problem is that the misbegotten wretch costs $306 to manufacture, meaning H-P will lose two-thirds if it is sold for $99. And they've already established that price in the minds of consumers. And this poor guy is going to report to marketing?
Yes, I own an H-P computer and printer. The printers of this model line should all be shipped back to China whence they came, as they are certain to hobble the Chinese economy for decades and we might be able to get a re-valuation of the yuan. |