HP TouchPad special promotion just $299, business as usual for HP

The tech world has been buzzing today over a couple of special promotions for the HP TouchPad that when combined, can get you a new device (16 GB Wi-Fi) for just $299. That's a cool $200 cheaper than I paid for mine just a few weeks ago. Am I angry that I paid more than this special price? Nope. This is just business as usual for HP.

This promotion is only good from Aug. 5 - 7 and consists of a $100 instant rebate from HP combined with a  FatWallet $100 coupon for Staples. The two discounts are accumulative and can be applied to either the 16GB or the 32GB models at Staples.

Tech sites have been quick to jump on this discount to proclaim that HP is not happy with low sales of the TouchPad, and thus the big discounts. My feeling is that is not the case at all and that this is simply business as usual for HP. I have been buying HP stuff and following the company for a long time, and this is often done to stimulate sales and conversation around a product. I remember getting $300 off a Tablet PC from HP a few years ago just weeks after it was launched. HP is likely just looking to move a lot of TouchPads, as is Staples, and I wouldn't read too much into this.

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