HP Website Hints at Additional TouchPad Inventory

Perhaps you're one of the lucky ones who managed to snag a $99 HP TouchPad before every store in the country sold out. However, it's more likely that you're one of the not-so-lucky ones who found out about the sale just a couple of hours too late (or were thwarted by jittery online stores and limited inventory) and didn't get a TouchPad at all. For the disappointed, all is not lost, because there may be more TouchPads!

HP has put a notice up on the HP TouchPad landing page thanking customers for their interest in the device and informing them that the device is completely sold out. But while some stores are listing the device as 'discontinued,' HP's notice says the company is 'temporarily' out of stock.'

Due to the significant price reduction, we experienced overwhelming demand for the product and are temporarily out of inventory. Please enter your email address below to be notified if we have stock available.

Entering your email address throws back a thank you notice that exchanges 'if' for 'when'.

Thank you. We will contact you via email when the product becomes available again.

Sure, it's not a definite promise that more TouchPads will go on sale, but it does suggest that HP may be having second thoughts about axing the device. What started out as a fire sale to flush all remaining inventory out of retail channels as soon as possible soon turned into a feeding frenzy. The tablets are now selling for up to $300 on eBay (32GB model) and Craigslist users are willing to pay $200. We'll keep you posted on the status of any upcoming TouchPad inventory. Would you buy one if they became available again at the discounted price?

Jane McEntegart works in marketing communications at Intel and was previously Manager of Content Marketing at ASUS North America. Before that, she worked for more than seven years at Tom's Guide and Tom's Hardware, holding such roles as Contributing Editor and Senior News Editor and writing about everything from smartphones to tablets and games consoles.