HP’s exit from webOS devices left suppliers with piles of TouchPad parts

Hewlett-Packard’s component suppliers are none too happy right now according to a report from DigiTimes. Following the company’s decision to discontinue all webOS device efforts, which ostensibly kills off the platform itself, HP’s component suppliers in the East are now sitting on a pile of TouchPad parts that had reportedly been on order for the company’s second webOS tablet, the 7-inch HP TouchPad Go. Citing anonymous sources from HP’s supply chain, DigiTimes says there are apparently enough parts in inventory across HP’s various suppliers to assemble 100,000 7-inch TouchPads, which were originally set to go into production later this quarter. Of course DigiTimes does say that HP is currently negotiating with its suppliers to determine an appropriate solution, and it is beyond unlikely that the company would leave its partners sitting on a mountain of parts; whether or not HP spins off its PC business, it will need to continue working with these companies in some capacity moving forward. HP confirmed when it buried the TouchPad that clearing out unsold stock will cost the company more than $100 million. Add to that the R&D costs and inevitable expense from these unused TouchPad Go parts, and this is turning out to be quite an expensive mistake for the Palo Alto-based tech giant.

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Tags: HP, inventory, parts, Suppliers, TouchPad Go

Zach Epstein