Pre-Orders for AT&T Version of HP TouchPad Available at Amazon.com

HP's TouchPad is now available for pre-order in AT&T 4G form, although it looks like the price is sans carrier subsidy. The Amazon.com listing shows a price of $699.99 (with Amazon Prime available, at least).

This pricing is probably going to draw criticism despite the fact that it matches up well with a similarly equipped iPad (32GB, 3G vs. the TouchPad's 4G), which would be priced at $729.

The earlier Wi-Fi only TouchPad debuted on July 1st at $499 for 16GB and $599 for 32GB (both of those are available for $100 less at Amazon.com, currently). That device sported a dual-core 1.2Ghz CPU, but the new AT&T version will come with a faster 1.5GHz processor, 4G HSPA+ support, and webOS 3.0.2.


It is assumed, but not guaranteed, that the TouchPad will have some sort of carrier subsidy, as well, if a customer signs up for a two-year contract. That could make the price more attractive.

Although the TouchPad and Android tablets like the Xoom or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 may, in fact out-spec the hardware of the iPad 2, the iPad 2 has something they will never have: iOS.