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Tech Watch: HP Losing Money On Cheap Tablet

(KCBS) - Hewlett Packard will make one last run of its TouchPad tablet following a run on the product which caused many retailers to sell out.

The buying frenzy was sparked by a massive price drop after the company announced it was getting out of the tablet market.

CNET Editor-at-Large Brian Cooley called this a "very strange move for a company to say 'we're gonna keep pushing a little further at a product we've already killed and are losing money on.'"

It's a product that costs $300 to make, and they're selling at $100 each so the company is definitely losing money on this.

Cooley said one reason to explain why they're doing this is that they are trying to sell their Web OS division that runs this tablet and smartphones.

Amazon is coming out with a new tablet in a few weeks. Analysts are expecting them to sell up to 5 million during this coming holiday buying season which would make it the first real credible competitor to iPads.

You can hear his Tech Watch report Tuesdays and Thursdays at 1:50 P.M. on KCBS All News 740AM and 106.9FM.

(Copyright 2011 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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