The HP TouchPad is mostly sold out everywhere due to fact that HP has ceased manufacturing them and has given up on the tablet and their entire PC division. The one remaining hope in the retail sphere is Best Buy.
Starting this Saturday select Best Buy locations will be getting their final allocations of the $99 16 GB and $149 32 GB HP TouchPads from their warehouse. Many retail locations in the USA have informed us that higher density centers are the most likely places to find one. They mentioned that they want to send them to locations where they will sell out in hours and not days.
How do you know if the Best Buy locations in your city might carry them this Saturday August 27th? You don’t want to waste your time if they are not going to stock them in inventory, right? If you live in the USA you can use the inventory checker to see if it’s in the stores. You can access the 16 GB version HERE and the 32 GB version HERE.
For the best method of finding out if your Best Buy location is going to be carrying them, I would recommend calling the ones in your area and giving them the SKU of the TouchPad. The 16 GB SKU is 2842056 and the 32 GB SKU is 2842092. What you want to do is call the locations in your area, but do not mention the TouchPad. Ask them if there are any shipments “in transit.” If there are no shipments in transit, that location is out of luck and you’d better try others. Best Buy staff members are absolutely swamped with telephone calls and if they hear the word “TouchPad” they will be very curt with you.
Good luck!
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.