HP to undercut iPad price, iPad to undercut Amazon e-books prices, Courier to rule them all?
By Thomas Ricker 
posted February 18th 2010 2:05AM
posted February 18th 2010 2:05AM
Today's Apple rumor roundup is brought to you by the word "money." First up is a piece carried by the New York Times citing no less than three people familiar with provisions that would require publishers to discount best seller e-book prices sold on Apple's iPad. In other words, below the $12.99 to $14.99 price dictated by the new agency model -- prices Amazon is being strong-armed into accepting. Apple's prices could be as low as Amazon's previously magical $9.99 price point for some titles just as soon as they hit the New York Times best-seller lists. Discounted hardcover editions could be priced at $12.99 even if they do not hit the best-seller list.
The Wall Street Journal, meanwhile, has a pair of sources saying that HP will be meeting with its US and Taiwanese partners to "tweak prices and features" on its upcoming Slate. The move is meant to capitalize on a recent uptick in tablet interest with hopes of undercutting the $629 price of the similarly spec'd 3G-enabled iPad. Although it was introduced before the iPad, HP deliberatly held back on announcing a ship date or pricing so that it could tweak the Slate accordingly.
Also noteworthy is renewed attention given to Microsoft's Courier. The WSJ says that Microsoft continues work on its two-screen Courier tablet at its Alchemy Ventures incubation laboratory in Seattle. However, it's still unclear whether Microsoft will launch the device.
@robohoe My 2006 Everun UMPC tablet (running winXP) has always jumped out of standby to full functionality in about 3 seconds. No need to shut down the OS, just make it SLEEP when you push the power button. My Win7 version is even faster.
Welcome to the modern OS. Everyone complains about how long boot-up time is... I don't get it.
I haven't fully shutdown my desktop or laptop in weeks.
@tmarks11
Oh yeah, XP "sleep". I have a netbook with XP that goes to sleep and won't wake up. Acer blames Microsoft, Microsoft says they dunno, I say screw 'em both, I'm getting an iPad.
@Ed T
They're both the problem. Believe it or not, Windows 7 (an OS that isn't almost 10 years old) has vastly improved sleep performance compared to XP.
i'm buying a courier right when it's released!
@caleblargo
Good, you'll have plenty of time to save your money.
Is it me or Engadget have been a lot more pro Microsoft since Windows Phone 7 not like there's a problem with that?
@aimran After all of the iPad buildup they did, they are feeling somewhat deflated. So many pie-in-the-sky rumors crushed by the release of just another MID-clone.
Actually, I have never seen much of an Apple bias in Engadget. They report on Apple a lot (because it brings in the viewers and pumps ad revenue), but their reporting has always been extremely sarcastic. They are probably happy to find a new windmill to tilt.
When you believe!
Can someone tell me if the HP Slate has any ports like USB and/or HDMI???
If Microsoft could deliver on something like what i saw in that Courier piece (video, w/e) I wouldn't be so hasty in my decision. iPhone OS is getting stale--even on the iPad--but the others aren't bringing enough to make me want to leave Apple.
It's a shame that they have to do leaps and bounds over what Apple already does to even come close to convincing me.
@TJM
Why is the iPhone OS getting stale for you? I just want an OS that works, but I don't want to know that it's working. The apps should take center stage.
@trainwrecka Dont get me wrong. I use an iPhone 3GS everyday, and I love it. I wouldn't use anything else because of two things: 1) I've invested in Apple as far as the devices I use go; iPhone, MacBook, iMac, Apple TV, and iTunes which is at the center of it all. 2) Apple, IMO, does the best when it comes to the balance of functionality and elegance.
The sets out there running Android seem to have a great deal of functionality, but they are lacking on the elegance. From my few encounters with Android-based phones, I saw the stitching...Apple makes sure that I can't see any of that. At the same time I see a lot of potential in the Android OS. I'm not saying Apple ha to open the flood gates--I know they won't. But...
But at what cost? The multitasking debate is less of an issue for the iPhone IMO. But if the apps should be central, as you say, and i agree with you, when are they going to innovate the core apps? Mail and Calendar are ridiculously generic--and they won't allow alternatives. Look what they did for the iPad... If that's something like what we'll see on a fourth-gen iPhone this summer (as well as in a software update) I take back what I say about iPhone becoming stale. Hardware is also something Apple might want to revise. The 3GS was not that great of an update. I'm looking forward to seeing something higher res. and better core apps.
$15us for an ebook?!?!?! Holy crap, that's crazy and totally unacceptable. Especially since the author doesn't get anything extra for the digitial pricing.
I'll just wait for a paperback or borrow the book from my local library's FREE digital service.
Forget all the rest, if the courier is like it is in that video....that will be the tablet i get.
@TCrimson05
Wait until you see that price. Not saying it will be high, but I would wait until you see that.
Now that I think of it, if Courier is a big Windows Phone 7 in the same way iPad is to a big iPod Touch, that could be interesting, at least visually.
I'm not trolling iPad fans, I'm just simplifying to make the point
@Snake Robot Podium
No problem... Point Well Made!
Why is the iPad filed under 'Tablet PC'? WTF!? It's a Tablet Mac! ;)
@Kid Red
Actually, it's not a Tablet Mac, which is the main reason for the disappointment about it.
@MollyC Actually it is essentially running mobile OS X, so yeah, it is a Tablet Mac.
The iPad is a nice content viewing device for iTunes purchases. It is really just a gateway device for Apple to sell more videos (more than anything). I can't believe that Jobs hasn't been trying to figure out a way to turn the success of iTunes music into iTunes videos for years. My guess he is hoping that the TV-addicted USA will buy up tons of videos on his iPad.
On that note, I think the iPad is too expensive. Really, so is the Kindle and Nook too. They all need to drop to be a cheap purchase. $100 or so on the base end and $400 at the top end. At that price, I could imagine buying into the Apple content consumable device.
BUT, the HP Slate might be something more. It could be something I use when I am out shooting on my Canon 7D and I want to check my stills and video. I will be able to load up the footage into the Slate and view it in Bridge, checking my focus and exposure perfectly. I already have to do this on a laptop for some of the more critical shoots, so a hand held device could be fantastic. I could see making a mount to attach to my tripod too. Very cool.
Or perhaps when my daughter is playing with her friends at the playground and I am sitting on the park bench, I can take some time and sketch up the storyboards for the video shoot next week. Or maybe I can send out some client quotes or invoices in Quickbooks.
I can even use the HP Slate to write some code. There are a number of web scripts, Flash apps, and After Effects/Photoshop plugins that my team uses that I maintain the codebase for. Sometimes I get ideas and currently have to pull out my laptop, which is ok, but if I had something a bit lighter/slimmer/etc then I will be more likely to carry it around. So the Slate could be a great tool for a programmer to have handy when they get some inspiration and want to test it out.
The truth is, a full OS is more useful than the iPad/iPhone OS. Even for content consumption, I can view any media type with VLC media player. Yet on the iPhone everything has to be transcoded. I'll have more applications to run, but more importantly, I will be able to run my full production and accounting apps. As much as I enjoy my iPhone, it is NOT a device to replace a laptop. So I don't expect the iPad to be either.
And with all that said - the HP Slate isn't the end all either. The slate form factor has been around a LONG time. Battery life and processor power just were not quite there expect in small vertical markets. We are starting to reach a point where it is working out, but only just.
HP shouldn't do Apple the favour of dropping the price, as it will make Apple snobs feel like the iPad must be better, since it costs more and all those things!
Quite interesting discussion we have here. I personally like the iPad, but I am excited by the other Tablets. They should provide competition to Apple and keep APPLE's prices in check. Bookmarked
I'm sorry but all your heads are so far up your own asses. The Courier isn't real.
@KillTheApex http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=049_U-0C9qU&feature=related
@KillTheApex http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=049_U-0C9qU