HP Pre 3 To Sell For $75 In Europe, But Not In U.S.

On August 18, HP announced that it would end its lines of mobile devices running the company's webOS software. Among those devices that would land in the HP gadget graveyard were the newly launched TouchPad tablet and the Pre 3 smartphone, which was already on sale in Europe and had yet to launch Stateside.

Though the Pre 3 will never see the light of day in the U.S., there's a silver lining for European customers. Unlocked Pre 3 devices will be marked down to the equivalent of $75 dollars, according to an HP rep who spoke with PCMag on Monday.

"As of this writing, the Pre 3 costs 349 euros ($505) in France and 299 pounds ($490) in the U.K., making the $75 sale a dramatic drop," writes PCMag. The company rep also said that the device had flown off shelves in Germany and was no longer available there.

When will this sale take effect? "Shortly" was all the rep would tell PCMag.

The Pre 3 was announced alongside the TouchPad in February 2011. The phone features a 3.6-inch touchscreen and a roomier sliding keyboard than its predecessor, the Pre 2. A touch-to-share feature, which allows the Pre 3 and the TouchPad to wirelessly share web addresses, would have made these devices ideal office companions.

After an early hands-on session with the Pre 3, Engadget had this to say: "The screen is a relatively spacious 3.6-inches, and webOS looks absolutely stunning on it. [...] [I]n terms of hardware quality, HP has taken a big step up here."

According to the Los Angeles Times, HP made its announcement to cancel future webOS devices only a day after the Pre 3 went on sale in Europe.

HP also slapped a jaw-dropping clearance markdown on the TouchPad late last week. The sale initially hit Canada, where 16GB units are now $99, and 32GB units are now $149--if you can find them. The deeply discounted devices were so popular that the sale was expanded to the United States. HP's website was slammed with orders over the weekend, and the company is promising that it will make more devices available soon.

To see what other devices HP killed last week, check out our slideshow of HP's webOS gadget graveyard. Then, read on to find out why HP decided to stop making mobile gadgets.

Comments

[ValerieRose]

06:33 AM on 08/29/2011

After seven weeks of introducing sale of TouchPad, Hewlett-Packard has killed the unwelcomed rival in the market of tablets.
http://radiomobiletech.com/blogposts/in-the-world-of-technology-you-either-sell-big-or-simply-die-fast.html
In the World of Technology You Either Sell Big or Simply Die Fast

[ValerieRose]

04:39 AM on 08/26/2011

Even tough HP is displaying spectacular specs, you should be also expect some spottiness when it comes to coverage.
http://tablettechtoday.com/blogposts/hp-pre-3-misses-us-but-goes-extremely-cheap-in-europe.html

[Ramon Moreno]

12:52 AM on 08/25/2011

How come Japan, Canada, and Europe has more access to more products?

[gmb007]

04:17 PM on 08/26/2011

Tut, tut, Ramon. You're falling down on the job as HP Spelling and Grammar Monitor.

It should be "have" more access.

[jianyoa]

09:30 AM on 08/24/2011

Dang it i missed the touchpad now this. What else are they fire selling?

[Howard53545]

06:53 AM on 08/24/2011

I got a touchpad.

[AllyCat7]

01:56 AM on 08/25/2011

How do you like it? I was a Palm loyalist for years (had the Treo brand phone for 5 years), but finally made the switch to Android due to apps. But I heard wonderful things about WebOS.

[Katina Cooper]

07:05 PM on 08/23/2011

Bet you can buy it on e-bay in a few weeks for the same price.

[Ryan Webster]

09:14 PM on 08/23/2011

You won't. Once an item that is in high demand gets on ebay , the price of that item will inflate.

[demimckingwoodtx]

04:56 PM on 08/23/2011

Aww! I missed it!

[CtrlClick]

04:09 PM on 08/23/2011

I was thinking of getting a smartphone. I’ll try to get this if its discounted. My contract is coming to an end and if I get this then I can save a lot of money on the contract. I don’t care about the support or apps. I’d like a phone that I can bring up google maps from time to time. I have a phone that can do it now but it is painfully slow.

[agett12]

06:21 PM on 08/23/2011

Get virgin mobile. The LG Optimus V is only 150 and has Android 2.2 and all google apps. It aslo has a hotspot feature you can use if you get the quicksettings app

[CtrlClick]

07:31 PM on 08/23/2011

It's more than twice the price, if discounted, with lower specs. I checked the Virgin tariffs and a i'm getting three times the minutes for the same price.

I'll give it a miss.

[Ryan Webster]

09:15 PM on 08/23/2011

I'm with you , i'd like to get this phone also. Hope they reconsider selling it in the U.S for the fire sale price.

[SNAAPER SNAP]

04:04 PM on 08/23/2011

Makes me feel bad for all those who just bought these HP electronics before they were discounted.

[CrimsonIdol]

04:45 PM on 08/23/2011

Don't feel too bad for them, HP is giving them refunds to make up for the diff, I'm just sorry they even bought HP.

[Ramon Moreno]

12:53 AM on 08/25/2011

Early adoption should carry risk.

[worldtrav]

03:54 PM on 08/23/2011

wouldn't it be cool, if this was a product dump - rather than capitulation.
with this many devices - software will be wanted - with software - OS will be ....

[stevehamlin]

03:58 PM on 08/23/2011

Palm OS, anyone?

[Edna Crabapple]

04:43 PM on 08/23/2011

I still use a Palm Pilot with Palm OS 5...
It was a pretty good OS for it's day.

[Wendy Piersall]

02:55 PM on 08/23/2011

The problem with buying a Pre at this point is that HP will not offer support to the app developers anymore. Already there are very few widely available iPhone/Android apps that are supported on the Pre WebOS. And you can say goodbye to any future updates as well. This is already happening on older versions of the Pre, which is what I unfortunately own.

[MPFIED]

02:41 PM on 08/23/2011

Maybe a few other technology companies with mediocre sales on their overpriced toys should take a hint and follow HP.

The risk,of course, is having a device with OSes that will be obsolete.

[ufopp]

02:32 PM on 08/23/2011

HP moved from being a top 5 computer company to the top printer company. Pretty soon, if not already there, it will become the top ink manufacturing company.

[CharlesW299]

03:01 PM on 08/23/2011

HP 2010 Net revenues ~ 120 Billion ...

That is either a lot of ink, or they do a lot more than just ink as you allude.

[editorjuno]

05:35 PM on 08/23/2011

Selling ink is a profit center, selling printers (often as loss leaders or at a tiny profit) are how you get to sell lots of ink. The problem with PCs and mobile devices is that there are no overpriced branded expendables to sell in order to inflate the corporate bottom line, so you have to make your nut on the products themselves -- like IBM before them, HP no longer wants to play in such price-driven, low-margin marketplaces.

[ufopp]

05:58 PM on 08/23/2011

You an editor? Hard to believe.

[GeoToronto]

02:21 PM on 08/23/2011

I hope they sell it in Canada

[dmsdzinr]

02:07 PM on 08/23/2011

FIRE SALE as they go out of the smartphone business.