Supply and Demand in Action

Apple has had a solid grip on the technology market for years now. Its not that they have a monopoly in any one market, its that they keep creating markets at a rate which leaves competitors gasping for breath. After getting the world addicted to iPods, they introduced the iPhone which, again, created a niche and then filled it so well that other smart phones were able to compete only because, at the time, AT&T had an exclusive contract with Apple. In 2010, Apple continued its habit of filling previously untapped markets with the iPad. Once again, companies like HP and Verizon scrambled to pick up the scraps of Steve Jobs' success with their own tablets.

But then...HP gave up. Last month they shocked the technological world with the announcement that they were canceling their production of tablets and webOS hardware. This, after all those cute commercials featuring Russel Brand, Lea Michele and an ostrich. Once they decided to stop production, they discounted their tablets to the unbelievably low price of $99. This costs HP an estimated $200 per tablet sold. But then...HP announced they would restart production and continue through Halloween of this year. Why? No one with permission to tell us knows. Yet.

In the mean time, buy up! Who knows the next time a company will sell such cool technology for such a cool price?