Inventec

Bye, bye $99 TouchPad: HP says tablet officially out of stock

Hewlett-Packard sent out notices today that it is officially out of TouchPads, meaning there will be no more shipments of those popular $99 tablets.

The notice says, "As you signed up for updates on the HP TouchPad, we wanted you to know that we are officially out of stock. Some retailers will have some stock available, but our online inventory is depleted."

The only other avenue for getting a TouchPad is Best Buy. The retailer announced today that it will offer a 32 GB HP TouchPad for $149.99 with purchase of an HP or Compaq Laptop, Desktop or All-in-One computer.

The official demise of the TouchPad coincides with a report Friday pointing to the end of TouchPad production. Citing sources, Asia-based Digitimes said TouchPad manufacturer Inventec had laid off 400 employees because it "has to stop production of Hewlett-Packard's...WebOS tablet PCs, and also expects no new orders for other devices."

And in related news, there was a report Friday that HP will shut down the group responsible the WebOS software.… Read more

HP facing pressure to keep PC unit inside--report

Hewlett-Packard is facing pressure to keep its PC business inside the company according to an Asia-based report.

Growing concern about the fate of HP's PC unit is pushing "channel operators" to switch their orders from HP to brands such as Dell, Acer, and Lenovo, according to a report in Digitimes, citing sources.

The report names Acer as a major beneficiary of the shift.

HP's Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) partners, including Quanta Computer, Inventec, Wistron, and Foxconn Electronics, will "regain...confidence" in HP if it decides not to spin off its PC business, the report … Read more

HP reportedly launching 7-inch tablet

Hewlett-Packard will reportedly unveil a 7-inch tablet in August following the July 1 debut of its 9.7-inch TouchPad.

HP has ordered 400,000 to 450,000 TouchPad tablets per month from supplier Inventec, says a story in Friday's Taiwan Economic News. Inventec will supply HP with the upcoming 9.7-inch TouchPad as well as the new 7-inch tablet.

An industry insider cited by Taiwan Economic News says that HP will order around 3 million tablets from Inventec this year.

Beyond the August kickoff date, no details were revealed about the 7-inch tablet. A request to HP for comment … Read more

Qualcomm debuts 3G Linux mini-notebook

Qualcomm has introduced a mini-notebook made by Taiwan-based Inventec that costs around $299 and is equipped with 3G connectivity, according to IDG News Service.

Unlike the ASUS Eee PC, which comes in both Linux and Windows XP operating systems, Qualcomm's mini-notebook will initially run on Linux, though the company is also looking at using Windows Mobile 7 with its Snapdragon chipsets.

All these are still on the drawing board, but "similar products could be out by the end of this year," said Luis Pineda, senior vice president at Qualcomm. The company hopes to make a big bang … Read more