Early adopters of HP's TouchPad tablet have a little less to be upset with after seeing prices drop sharply in recent days. Over the weekend HP announced that qualifying early adopters would receive a $50 credit for use in the App Catalog.
HP has offered multiple price reductions since launching the TouchPad on July 1. The first of several kickbacks came in the form of a $50 rebate through July 31 for loyal buyers. If you could prove ownership of a Palm Pre, Pre Plus, or Pixi phone you qualified for the mail-in rebate on a 32 GB TouchPad.
A $50 price reduction was announced last week followed by a weekend-only additional $50 cut (August 5-7). Additionally, webOSroundup found a $100 Staples coupon for a total of $200 off the original price, bringing down the 16GB TouchPad to about $300.
The latest offer from HP is valid for TouchPad owners in the US that purchased a tablet between July 1 and August 4 either directly through HP or participating resellers. Qualifying users will receive an email this week with more details. As such, HP recommends that owners have a valid email address associated with their tablet. The credit is good until December 31, 2011 and stacks with the previously mentioned early adopter mail-in rebate.
The recent price drops, rebates and credits are likely a sign that HP is trying to clear stock on the original TouchPad to make room for the new TouchPad 4G that was announced last month. The new device will have a faster 1.5 GHz processor, 32 GB of storage, integrated GPS and as the name suggests, will take advantage of 4G wireless networks. As of writing, a release date for the 4G tablet has not been set.