Todd Bradley, executive vice president of Hewlett-Packard’s Personal Systems Group, has stated in an interview that the TouchPad tablet, which was recently pulled out from the market, could be revived. That is to say, the company has not entirely abandoned it WebOS system and still fighting to get a strong status in the mobile market.
“Regardless of what happens, we’re the largest PC company in the world”, Bradley has pointed out. Then he emphasized the importance of the mobile segment:  “Tablet computing is a segment of the market that’s relevant, absolutely”.

According to Reuters, Bradley confirmed that the TouchPad tablet could come back; and he made this statement while he was traveling (for business) in China, trying to calm down and explain the current situation to the parts providers. So, obviously, these declarations are an official confirmation that HP is clearly looking for a second chance in the tablets segment which is dominated by the iPad and the Android tablets at this time.
Among the possibilities to explore in order to boost this segment at Hewlett-Packard, it’s possible that the WebOS becomes an open-source system (well, at least it could be an “open-source system” for a selected community of mobile makers in the industry). This platform has earned a sort of prestige because it is a product that has been active in the technology market since the Palm days. And the Palm was an innovative entity in the mobile market before Palm, Inc was bought by “the largest PC company”.
Recently (on August 18), HP had announced that the company was going to lay aside its WebOS operating system along with its TouchPad tablet; this product had been available only since July 1. And, when the company announced the tough decision, sellers reduced the price to $99.
But, why HP is changing its mind? Without doubt, the surprising demand from the consumers buying the remaining units of the TouchPad is a good reason, though the reduced price was obviously a powerful incentive to originate the strong sales.
“Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand”, HP spokesman Mark Budgell wrote on a post on the official HP website. Of course, “a last run of TouchPad” doesn’t mean a full come back of the TouchPad but, if the demand continues strong, then it can be a permanent decision.
The new produced tablets would be available for sale in a few weeks and the company has not said a word about how many tablets will be produced in this “last run”. “We can’t promise we’ll have enough for everyone”, Budgell wrote.
The company will produce the tablets during its fourth fiscal quarter, which finishes on October 31.
Regarding the price, HP has not confirmed if these new units will have the same reduced price of the remaining units in the stores during the last weeks: $99 for the 16GB version and $149 for the 32GB version. Keep in mind that, initially, the 16GB version had a price of $499 (an extreme difference).
With those incredible prices, most retailers were able to sell all the units of the HP tablet. It caused a sort of online craziness and long lines of common people and offer hunters waiting at the doors of stores.
“The speed at which it disappeared from inventory has been stunning”, Budgell pointed out.
In addition, while users were happily buying the bargain gadget, an interesting online initiative emerged: Taking a customized version of Android to work with the HP TouchPad. The project is leaded by a group of developers named Cyanogenmod team.
In fact, the project goal is to create a multiboot solution where the end user can utilize different mobile operating systems to work with the TouchPad (including, of course, the WebOS).  This group of developers has a special version of Android for smartphones called CM7 and they were able to boot the HP tablet with this OS. (See the video below).

Anyway, according to some preliminary estimates by IHS iSuppli, HP could lose money with each Touchpad in this last run if the prices are not increased. For example:  The 32GB version needs a list of materials that cost around $318.  So… maybe the party is over.
HP has been criticized for changing its mind several times when making important decisions; in any event, the future of Touchpad is not an easy decision with the strong competitors out there. We’ll see what happens now.

The HP TouchPad emerged onto the scene as a major competitor with Apple’s iPad but now that the machine has been on the market (and subsequently torn down so we all know what’s inside one of these beasts) we’re left to wonder if HP can afford to compete with the big dog.
The major selling points of the HP TouchPad is that it can do just about everything that an iPad can and more (thanks to compatibility with Flash and all the thousands of websites which use it). The price tag is also a major draw as well. So, can the margin HP earns on each one of these (and it can’t be very big) enough to keep the TouchPad afloat or will it go the way of the dodo bird?
The TouchPad is essentially a second generation tablet device. Running on the Palm operating system, the TouchPad features a 9.7 inch 1,024 x 768 screen slapped into a 1.65 pound shell. Inside there is a 1.2 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and a full GB of RAM. (However, don’t expect that speed to appear in the boot time—the TouchPad is notoriously slow in that department).

While the display is bright, crisp, and every bit as beautiful as the iPads, the speakers are really something to behold. While they pale in comparison to even a moderate set of PC speakers, these bad boys outperform just about any tablet on the market—though to be truthful, most of the time you’ll be wearing headphones if you’re that worried about sound quality.
The TouchPad is available in 16GB and 32GB models so you can choose your limitations—no upgrading or SD slots here folks.
One strange feature (or lack thereof) is the missing rear-facing camera. There is a 1.3 megapixel lens in the front but nothing on the back. While tablets aren’t exactly meant for snapping family photos, it’s nice to have a camera when you want one.
The nine hour battery life HP promised sounds about right even though it’s a bit shy of the 10 hour time the iPad 2 allows its users to tinker. All that from a relatively small 6300 mAh rechargeable lithium ion battery.
You get 802.1 b/g/n wireless built in for connectivity and cellular service is available with a separate contract not unlike most tablets on the market. You do also get Bluetooth but also, interestingly enough, built-in wireless LAN access.

You get a microUSB port and a 3.5 millimiter headset jack as well, just in case you were wondering.
Good luck getting the official figures from HP but through the wonders of reverse engineering, the Internet has at least some idea. You see, some enterprising fellows decided to crack the TouchPad open and catalog all the shiny parts inside the machine and now the Internet is doing a little side-by-side price comparison.
The retail prices of the machines range from $499 for the 16GB model and $599 for the 32GB version. However, by some crafty comparisons, the Internet has learned that the 16GB version would cost (if you were to manufacture it yourself with parts bought piecemeal) a whopping $328. That means that HP is, potentially, making less than 30% (a critical markup figure that smart businessmen almost never miss) on each device.
While the prices (both retail and of the parts) compare favorably to the iPad, it’s interesting to note that HP may well be better able to absorb any price discrepancies as they have such a huge catalog of other products available to boost their bottom line.

So is the HP TouchPad doomed to a quick and frightful death? Possibly—but not because of costs.
The lack of certain features modern tablet users consider essential and the vague promises of “upgrades” which may or may not come to fruition may be the key. If the TouchPad is viewed as a first foray in a competitive market, it’s easier to accept than a true rival of the iPad.
Still, Flash compatibility is a huge factor, allowing users access to a very powerful set of software tools that could really tip the scales.
If you’d like to learn more about the HP TouchPad, visit the official HP website