14 DAY TRIAL // One would think HP's contribution to the tablet market would be minimal after the whole webOS debacle, but it turns out that it is the other way around.
According to a study conducted by NPD, 2012 was the year of very weird happenings on the tablet market.
Setting aside the Apple iPad, the ranking of companies in regards to how many slates they sold from January to the end of October is not exactly what people might think it is.
Though the initial XOOM wasn't so well received, Motorola is not on the last place.
Also, despite the apparent assets of the Eee Pad Transformer (the original), ASUS didn't gain the lead either.
Furthermore, even with all the attention from the lawsuits and whatever else, Samsung ended up falling short of the leading spot.
As such, it seems that, as absurd as it sounds, the company who sacked its TouchPad after just weeks of existence, the company that suddenly changed its CEO because of various issues, ended up on top in the end.
Obviously we are referring to HP, the company that lost more money on webOS than it won in the past quarter.
HP sold 204,000 tablets, ending up with 17%, while Samsung had 16% (192,000) and ASUS got 10% (120,000).
There was one point when the TouchPad was handed out for just $99, not the $500 or more of before, which obviously played a great part in this outcome.
Motorola and Acer were tied for the last spot with 9% each (108,000 tablets, give or take).
Marketing might be the root cause for this arguably baffling situation, though pricing may have also contributed to things. Then again, the iPad itself sold and still sells for $500.
What remains is to see if HP bothers to stay in the tablet game and if videos like this one (ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Prime) are enough marketing for Tegra 3 devices.