HP TouchPads to Launch With Windows 8?

HP is planning to re-enter into the tablet market by releasing a new device that runs Windows 8, according to a recent report from the Bangkok Post.

The company gracefully bowed out of the tablet market last year after bailing on its webOS-based TouchPad device that the company offered for just $99 during a final fire sale.

Now it seems HP is looking to partner with Microsoft for its return to the market hoping that the fresh software can reinvigorate the line.

"Restarting production is a strategic move aimed at capitalizing on the extraordinary growth in tablet sales," said HP's chief executive Meg Whitman at the Global Influencer Summit 2012.

The new tablets will come with Windows 8 and new cloud-based technology pre-installed that will enable users to share and store content online between different devices, according to Todd Bradley, the executive vice-president for printing and personal systems for HP.

HP seemed to fare well against the tablet market's leader Apple in terms of generating interest when it first acquired webOS to use to power the TouchPad. HP went on to launch the device on July 1, 2011 and abandoned the tablet and smartphone market just six weeks later.

After HP dropped out of the race, the TouchPad went on to become one of the hottest items in the market, but not for any good reason.

Its new fire sale price caused customers to buy them up quickly and retailers ran out relatively fast.

Whether or not the new HP Windows 8 tablets will be called the TouchPad is unclear, however, the company may have chance at competing this time around due to the shift in the climate of the tablet market.

HP should lean more towards the low-end market that is currently dominated by the Amazon Kindle Fire since Apple seems to have received its only true competition from the newer tablet.