HP's Plan to Make TouchPad a Hit - BusinessWeek

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Even if HP nails webOS and wins over developers, there's the obvious third task: getting people to buy the devices. With its 20,000-plus global sales force, the company has a good shot at landing corporate customers, Bajarin says. To sell to consumers, he says HP will have to train Best Buy and 600,000 other dealers to show customers the glories of webOS. HP has paid retailers to set up its own section within stores and is dispatching several hundred employees to demonstrate the product at retail this July, says Stephen DeWitt, Personal Systems Group senior vice-president. HP is spending hundreds of millions on an ad blitz starring Jay-Z and other celebrities.

Bradley and Rubinstein say that if the TouchPad's reception is lukewarm initially, they'll be patient. "We have a really good opportunity to become No. 2 in tablets fairly quickly," Rubinstein says. "Possibly No. 1."

HP's Plan to Make TouchPad a Hit - BusinessWeek