HP offers TouchPad owners monetary refund

by Steven Mostyn - Sep 14 2011, 08:36

Considering the recent fire-sale discount HP announced for its wholly ignored and subsequently doomed TouchPad computer, chances are that emotions are running high for any existing owners who’ve already paid full price for the tablet device.

And so, in an attempt to calm any customer disgruntlement, HP has announced it will issue a partial monetary refund to UK buyers who purchased the webOS-powered TouchPad before its price was hacked to just 89 GBP.

The refund applies to all three sizing variants of the TouchPad (16GBs, 32GBs and 64GBs), and sees HP pledging to pay back the difference if accompanying webOS accounts were activated prior to August 23—which is when the clearance price was unveiled.

It’s likely that HP’s goodwill PR move will heal most gaping rifts with early adopters of the TouchPad, not least because online retailer Amazon has refused to issue a refund on the device.

“HP webOS devices—At HP we always think about you!” the industry giant trumpeted via its official website.

The sudden burst of refund generosity also applies to the webOS-powered Pre3 smartphone, which has had its UK retail price pulled down to just 69 GBP.

In related news, HP’s push to clear its decks of the unwanted TouchPad has led the computer manufacturer to ship an extra 6,000 units to the UK.

However, these particular devices will not be made available for general consumption and are instead earmarked for HP employees on a first-come, first served basis.

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