HP leaves TouchPad Go suppliers adrift with parts for 100K tablets

HP leaves TouchPad Go suppliers adrift with parts for 100K tablets

Posted: 30 Aug 2011 08:08 AM PDT

WebOS fans weren’t the only ones let down by HP’s sudden decision to give up on its mobile hardware weeks ago. Component suppliers who were gearing up to build 100,000 units of HP’s TouchPad Go, a 7-inch version of its tablet, were also left high and dry, Digitimes reports.

Sources tell the site that suppliers are in negotiations with HP to figure out some sort of solutions of for their now useless supply inventory. HP Taiwan says it won’t abandon the suppliers completely, but it’s unclear what exactly the company will be able to offer as recompense. The sources add that HP’s headquarters in the US still haven’t communicated to the company’s Taiwanese arm about what to do.

Production for the TouchPad Go was supposed to start at the end of this quarter.

Making amends with these suppliers will be another major expense for HP, which will likely lose hundreds of millions over the shutdown of its WebOS hardware. All of those $99 TouchPads will surely come back to bite HP, especially since the tablets have an estimated build cost of around $300. The company also spent a pretty penny on the TouchPad’s marketing campaign, which continued running days after the tablet was officially discontinued.