BTW, if you are lucky enough to have one, and want to put Windows 8 on it.  Its not fully working yet. Many people are having issues with the wifi and so far the top control buttons do not work. But give it some time. I think Windows 8 on this tablet would be amazing!

At some point, I really should write a post on why the TC110o has the cult reputation that it does.  Its more then just the fact its both a convertible and a slate, and its more then just good design, and more then despite its age, the components are just good enough to keep it useful even today … but that will be another post another day.

If I can find some time, I may gather what the web has said about the coolness and cult value of the classic TC1100.

• Biggest win. The TC1100 was used by Sheldon on the TV show Big Bang Theory.
• The TC1100 was used by Paul Ballard in the Dollhouse (TV Series) second season episode Belle Chose
• The TC1100 was used by Tom Cruise‘s character, Vincent, in Collateral.
• The TC1100 was also seen in the movie Alien vs. Predator.
• The TC1100 was also used by Dr. Cameron in an episode of House MD
• The TC1100 can also been seen in the film The Island starring Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johannson.
• The TC1100 was also used by characters in the TV show Alias
• The TC1100 was also used by characters in episodes 18, 19 and 22 of season 3 and 4, and episode 13 of season 5 of 24
• The TC1100 was also used by characters in the TV show CSI: Miami
• The TC1100 was also used by Angela Montenegro (Michaela Conlin) in the TV show Bones
• The TC1100 was also used by characters in the TV show My sweet 16 on MTV
• The TC1100 was also seen on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in a skit with Jefferson Han
• The TC1100 has been seen on the TV show “Las Vegas” in various shots around the bars.
• The TC1100 was also seen on the TV show “Knight Rider” in various parts of the show.
• The TC1100 was also seen on the in flight safety video for Singapore Airlines

I’m going to through this image of the iPad vs the TC1100 just for fun.  I would not call it an apples to apples (get it?) comparison, but I still dig it.

Due to unexpected customer demand for this item, our inventory was depleted prior to your order being processed so we are unable to fulfill this item as requested. Consequently, we have canceled your order and you will not be billed for this amount.

Great.  If I would have known this, I could have tried to hit one of the brick and mortar stores to get one, but I’m sure by now they are all gone.  Some more are suppose to be released this week, but again, I expect those with more flexible time then me will scoop them all.  Man.. Even when they cut the prices, things just do not work out for HP/Palm.  Rumor that more will be in stores tomorrow (wed).  I’ll give it one more try then.

Now the odd thing is the 32g version is still at the original price, so I think they still needs to update that.

No idea how long this will last, so if you want one of these guys, this could be your best bet since most people (including me) didn’t know B&N carried TouchPads.

Sure, its a bit bulkier then the ipad and not quite as slick, but it does run the basic apps AND it has a web browser.  That is the key here.  For $99 I can by a basic web browsing tablet.  Done!

And why not, since they are having a fire sale on HP stocks, may as well have one on the TouchPad.

{UDPATE}  Seems BestBuy sent them all back.  You cannot buy them from the Stores.  I went to HP.com and they list it, at 99, but its out of stock!  REALLY hoping this is just for now till all the unites come back.  I’ll be watching!!

{UPDATE 2}  Seems Best Buy changed it mind and WILL sell whatever they have in stock.  Arrgg..  No way I could get to a store with such short notice.  I will trying tomorrow, but I have a feeling there will be a rush on the brick stores and stock will clear out tomorrow if not cleared out already.

This is a big change in Acer’s strategy. The company has previously focused on the high-volume consumer PC business, trying and failing for a long time to overtake Hewlett-Packard as the number one PC manufacturer.

The CEO responsible for the previous strategy, Gianfranco Lanci, resigned yesterday after many disappointing months. During the fourth quarter of last year Dell overtook Acer as the number 2 PC maker in the world. This year did not start well either: Acer’s stock price has plummeted 22 percent since March 25 when the company slashed its first-quarter sales forecast.

Now the company is leaving cheap consumer notebooks and the quest for market share behind. It is focusing on profitability.

“There is good consensus among the board members that the tablet is the way to go,” Chief Financial Officer Tu Che-min told Bloomberg.

It’s no wonder tech companies would like to be like Apple with high margins and desirable products. According to Bloomberg, Apple had 21.5 percent profit margin last year. Acer had 2.3 percent. But it’s not easy to transform a company from a mass producer of netbooks to a high-margin brand. Acer knows that, and that’s why it is searching for a new CEO who is a leading player in smartphones and tablets.

Moving to tablets won’t be an easy task. Apple dominates the market with the iPad, and the competition is fierce. Motorola’s Xoom, BlackBerry’s Playbook, the new Samsung Galaxy Tab and HP TouchPad are just some of the devices trying to find their place in the market. Acer has its own Picasso tablet that uses the Android operating system, but there in no information available on the release date or pricing.

Tags: Galaxy Tab, iPad, market share, pc, PlayBook, tablet

Companies: Acer, Apple, Dell, HP, HTC, Samsung

People: Gianfranco Lanci, Tu Che-min

We not ‘ME’; I’m actually dieing to get my hands on one and play with it. I really liked the WebOS when I first started playing with it when the Pre came out (did not care for the phone), but instead I think most of the public does not care. When HP first bought Palm, then dropped their first slate, I had a feeling they were looking towards a slate / pad / tablet and here its is. Its Grrreatt!!

And I dont care..

But wait, you can select multiple email messages to delete all of them at one time with gestures as well as make your virtual keyboard larger or smaller.. I dont care.. Its supports flash in the web page AND

multitasking. I dont care… It can run your desktop, Mac and linux box all from the comfort of your sofa. I dont care.. It can support all 4 major cell networks and 2 more for 5G and 6G international that does not even exist yet! I dont care.. You can place it on your cat and by generating a static electric field, will remove all the hair and dandruff and install a language translator so you can talk to your cat. I dont care.. Sounding familiar? If you have not figured this out yet check the Video at the end of this post.

So what is my point here? The next time someone says this is a iPad killer, my brain will explode with the temptation to shove a hot poker in their face. As cool as this slate is; I think its a little late. The iPad owns the mindset of the general public and everyone else is fighting over the margins. And you think Microsoft is not going to come out with a tablet of some sort? Dont be silly. Given Apples lead, and the inroads made by Android, AND the fact more programmers write for Apple or Android, I think the WebOS is going to have an uphill battle to get people to write for it. And Apps is what people want, not cool features and functions that are not ground breaking. When the day comes that we have a write once deploy everywhere arch like Java and Flash tried to give us (think HTML5 containers), THEN we have another story, but that day is still far away.

I know its old now, but have another look at this video and the following one. I think it make a really good point. People dont care how cool a technology is (unless its ground breaking) they only care what they can do with it, and has it been proved out by their friends and/or network.

Ok check out the post iPhone and HTC Android fan boys do battle via salesman cartoons.

And here is the NSFW Video..

Still its done and now Palm had ended one life and begins another.  And given the stock jump, its off to a good start.

And what would really interesting in the ‘another’?  How about running the WebOS on the new HP slate?  I know its suppose to run windows7, (and I still think that is the best way to go) but perhaps a dual boot?  The only reason I say this is a slate with instant on, like the iPad, would make it a more interesting competitor to the iPad. And what about other devices?  We already know Apple is planning on putting its iPhone OS on other devices, and so is Google, but HP ‘makes’ lots of devices, so they have an advantage there.

Plus, the DO make phone yea know.  So can we see a ‘cheap’ smart phone on the horizon?  Perhaps.  But I know this, I really need to buy a palm pre to complete my collection.