Fire sales and reassurances - just another HP week

I'd love to be a fly on the wall at HP HQ right now

After a dramatic week with HP slashing the price of its TouchPads and causing a stampede at retailers across the globe (online at least) - it makes me wonder what is going on.

I think most of us were caught by surprise at last week's announcement that it was looking to spin-off the PSG division and was canning TouchPad production. I know I was.

The main concern in the aftermath of the bombshell was that HP's channel partners hadn't heard a thing from the vendor until a letter from PSG boss Todd Bradley was sent out over the weekend, reaffirming the vendor's commitment to its channel partners and customers.

Warranties will be honoured, and HP remains committed to innovation, it said.

And the trust of channel partners was paramount. Of course.

The big question everybody is now asking is who on earth will buy HP's PSG division? What if it decides to keep it? Was it just a ploy to screw up Apple's iPad sales and offload a load of TouchPads? Very clever if it was.

Of course I don't know anymore than you do, but we are fascinated with the speculation this news is bringing.

What I would give to have a pair of Extendable Ears (thanks Harry Potter) and listen in to some board meetings at HP HQ.

Your thoughts and observations as ever would be most welcome.

As an HP channel partner, are you worried or confident of the outcome of this escapade? Please do let me know.