HP readies channel for TouchPad launch

Hotly anticipated tablet device will be available through resellers from mid-July, vendor confirms

HP has announced its hotly anticipated TouchPad tablet will be available direct and through channel partners from mid-July, although it declined to give a specific date.

UK pre-orders will begin on 19 June with prices starting at £399.

The TouchPad runs on HP's webOS mobile operating system and is powered by Intel's Snapdragon CPU. It was previewed at the recent HP Discover event in Las Vegas.

The UK launch is slated for about two weeks after the product is made available in the US, France and Germany on 1 July.

Jon Rubinstein, senior vice president and general manager of the Palm Global Business Unit at HP, said: "What makes HP TouchPad a compelling alternative to competing products is webOS.

"The platform's unmatched features and flexibility will continue to differentiate HP products from the rest of the market for both personal and professional use. This is only the beginning of what HP's scale can do with webOS."

UK RRPs will be set at £399 for the 16GB version and £479 for 32GB.

Although Apple has a stranglehold on the tablet market, analysts believe the entry of some of the market's bigger players could shake up the balance of power this year.