The HP TouchPad tablet computer, which has been dumped just four days after it went on sale in Australia. Picture: Supplied Source: Supplied
ONE of the world's biggest computer makers quietly killed its first tablet overnight after just four days on sale in Australia.
In a new record for the industry, the HP TouchPad went on sale in Harvey Norman stores on Monday only to be abandoned by international press release.
In a statement, HP announced it would "discontinue operations for WebOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and WebOS phones".
While HP did not release any of its phones in Australia, after buying WebOS software from Palm, the TouchPad's premature death with come as a shock to Australian buyers who paid between $499 and $599 for the device.
In fact, the tablet still appears on the front page of HP's Australian website.
�See the full timeline for the HP TouchPad in Australia
The TouchPad tablet was given a longer life in the US, where it launched on July 1.
Poor sales forced HP to cut its US price by $100 early this month, however; a move shadowed in Australia where $100 was cut from its cost before its Monday launch.
HP's first tablet is a 9.7-inch model that is both heavier and thicker than the Apple iPad 2, though it features a dual-core processor, 1GB RAM, up to 32GB in storage and HP's WebOS software that the company promised to work "like nothing else".
In Australia, HP only released Wi-Fi models.
It is unclear what will happen with the remaining TouchPad units, though Harvey Norman is still selling the tablet computer today.
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