In an unconventional approach to marketing resembling the limited releases and sneak-peaks common in the entertainment industry, computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard have advance-released their new tablet computer, the Slate 500, through the company website.
While a formal product launch was scheduled on 25 October for traditional retail outlets, the company made the Slate 500 available from its website, without any significant publicity, three days in advance of the full launch.
Indeed, their turned out to be no full launch whatsoever, and in a last minute decision, the company felt it better to control the distribution of the product, making it available only through highly regulated company-owned channels. An HP press representative for mobile and personal technologies revealed of the Slate 500 that “You won’t be able to buy this at retail. We’re making it available strictly on our website, because we’re looking at it as a business-type device”.
Marketing the new tablet PC as business-type device seems merely a thinly veiled attempt to distance the Slate 500 from established competitors like the iPad and Amazons Kindle. Hewlett Packard called the latter devices media-oriented tablets, insisting that their new portable PC was designed almost exclusively for business and enterprise.
This follows from the fact that the Slate 500 runs a Windows operating and webhosting platform, making it an ostensibly more work-oriented device than its Apple and Amazon competitors. Additional features like Adobe can be uploaded, offering Slate 500 users the option to build your own website: what would be quite a difficult task using the iPad or other tablet PC competitors.
The Hewlett Packard site gives potential buyers a rundown of Slate 500 features and performance specifications, as well as a handy guide to making the most of your Slate. The product currently sells for $ 799 on the HP website, though executives are said to be considering the prospect of making the device available through a broader range of distribution channels.
Im 19 and from Devon, England. I like computers, surfing, music, and television though Im not quite sure what to do with my life. I finished college last year, read every day and spend too much time on the internet. I usually write reviews and think-pieces about IT, tech, gadgets Google and whatever else strikes my fancy.