
$149 for a Touchpad if you sign up as a developer - cygwin98
https://developer.palm.com/content/resources/develop/developer_device_program.html
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wanorris
Blackberry gave away Playbooks to anyone who developed an app for it, which
resulted in a lot of "developers" who produced low-quality, minimally useful
apps.

Is there some quality control that will limit who counts as a developer for
the TouchPad? If not, I expect this will have a similar result. And really,
even if they get real mobile developers, it may result in some half-hearted
ports unless it becomes clear at some point that the platform has some kind of
future.

~~~
rhizome
They should recast the program to send out the tablets as loaners, then
forgive the debt for the developers who make actually decent apps. A curated
giveaway.

~~~
jarek
And how exactly would you define a "decent app" in a way that wouldn't be
absurd or totally not useful and wouldn't give you ton of grief if a developer
tried to challenge your decision? It's essentially the iOS App Store problem
except you're mailing around physical hardware to boot.

~~~
rhizome
I have no idea, I'm not a developer-relations or product manager. I'm sure
something relatively fair could be thought up, though. I'm not pessimistic
about that, and someone is going to complain no matter what, so I think as
long as you tell everybody up front what the rubric is, that static can be
minimized.

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CWIZO
Great ... I can't register for a developer account because I'm from Slovenia.
Guess it's time to move to Somalia so I'll be able to register :\

~~~
meric
Don't be too disappointed, but the page only mentions developers from North
America and Europe can get a coupon.

That means Somalia would be out, too.

Now why can't Australian developers have coupons, too?

US, UK, Canada, but not Australia?

~~~
CWIZO
Still ... Slovenia is in Europe :)

~~~
dpapathanasiou
Only until the next referendum ;)

~~~
CWIZO
Europe != EU

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officemonkey
You're right. And Slovenia has been in the EU since 2004.

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bradleyland
Given the indecision of the HP board as of late, how can they expect
developers to make any significant effort to develop for their platform?

~~~
tiles
According to Palm Developer relations, because there's money to be made on an
uncrowded platform. There are plenty of existing TouchPad owners thanks to the
firesale, and those that use their devices are willing to pay to improve their
experience (since the experience won't likely be improved by HP themselves
long-term). And you might have more success short-term by selling smaller apps
on the Palm Marketplace than you would fighting for space in Android's.

~~~
phillmv
Am I the only person to think that this is a patently ridiculous line of
thinking?

~~~
wazoox
I've talked in 2002 or 2003 to a guy who was still developing fro BeOS at the
time. Better have a near monopoly on an uncommon OS than be some invisible me-
too :)

~~~
drivingmenuts
The question is: is there a profitable long-term market in the Touchpad?

Who actually bought the device? Corporations who will commit to long term
usage (I doubt it) or tech nerds who will flash the device to run Android
(leading to a different, well-populated market) or tech nerds who will use the
device as is (and abandon it in a year or two)?

Honestly, this sounds like very short-term thinking on the part of Palm.

~~~
X-Istence
I bought the device because I honestly believe that WebOS is an interesting
take on a tablet OS (and I like it much better over Android). However I will
not be purchasing any apps on the device. I use it strictly as an eReader.

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crikli
Maybe I'm dumb. Well, I'm definitely dumb. But where the heck to I go to buy
this thing? Can't find where on the HP site to do so.

~~~
ambiate
I would assume the "coupon" is actually a private link to the HP store with a
promo code associated with it. The promo code decays after it is used for a
single purchase.

~~~
crikli
This seems like a really clunky way to do things. I have to a) create an
account if I haven't already b) send an email and c) somehow redeem that
coupon.

They already have my PayPal info...why not set up the program to integrate
with my developer account so that I can click a link there to make the
purchase.

I wonder if this inefficient process is indicative of how HP operates; if so
it's pretty clear why they're on the ropes.

~~~
chillin411
Alternatively, it just may be another barrier so that they get more committed
developers rather than people that know the word developer and want a cheap
Touchpad.

~~~
jdhzzz
Like me.

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aquark
May be available to Canadians, but you appear to need a 'tax identification
number' from the IRS to open the account.

"Form W-8BEN should be completed by all Non-US developers planning to make
their applications available for sale to US customers/end-users. The form and
instructions may be found at the following IRS website ...."

Fortunately the form accepted '-' as a 'valid' number ... we'll see if they
try and validate it later.

~~~
shaggyfrog
I'm a Canadian developer and it was no problem getting one of those from the
IRS. In fact, I did it over the phone. It was surprisingly painless.

~~~
aquark
My concern is what I'd be signing up for by having one -- does it mean I need
to file some US tax paperwork annually even if there is no income?

~~~
shaggyfrog
Good question. I haven't filled out any paperwork in 2 years since I haven't
had any US income to declare. I got it done for the iOS App Store -- not sure
if Apple does that paperwork for devs (since it acts like a sales agent).

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chokma
Hm, you can only register as a developer if you have a Paypal account - and
the Paypal page you are directed to does not work. Well, perhaps it is for the
best, given Paypal's history.

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Urgo
I already got my touchpad (running android now) during the fire sale but this
is awesome for anyone who missed it.

Anyone know much it costs to sign up as a developer though to get this deal?
It says you need paypal so I'm guessing there is a cost but it doesn't
actually list how much it is until you sign up.

~~~
zerovox
Free at the moment, they say they have waved their fees for the time being,
which is unsurprising given the state of WebOS

~~~
toni
Is there a way to register as an individual? It seems that you must have a
company to be able to register in developer program, right?

~~~
Osiris
You can register as a sole-proprietor, so yes, you can register as an
individual.

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paulsilver
I had some hassle filling in the final part of the registration form with my
company details, this might help if you're have the same problems:

If you're in the UK and registering with your Limited company, you need to put
your company name in the "Tax Identification Number" field, and your VAT
number in the "Registration Number" field (if you're registered for VAT,
obviously.)

If you're not sure what your VAT number is internationally, you can check it
here:
[http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/vieshome.do?select...](http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/vieshome.do?selectedLanguage=EN)

For the UK, you have to put "GB " in front of your VAT number.

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ImprovedSilence
Has anyone emailed them for a coupon? And if so, has anyone heard back from HP
yet?

~~~
maratd
Yup, I emailed. Didn't hear back yet.

~~~
crikli
Nor have I.

~~~
tord_f
Same here.

~~~
vosper
I'd be curious to know if anyone's got one yet - or any kind of reply at all,
in fact.

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83457
"You will use your PayPal account to pay HP for things like PayPal Account
update fees and annual developer membership fees (free for a limited time)."

I'm signing up now but will likely cancel just to avoid any big charges in the
future.

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endlessvoid94
I clicked the devmarketing@palm.com link, and it apparently executes some
javascript to unencrypt the actual email address you're supposed to email.

It didn't work, though. I tried Chrome, Safari, and Firefox. I just emailed
devmarketing@palm.com directly -- anyone have any insight into this? I see no
errors in my Javascript console, but when I paste the JS call in directly into
the console, the return value is undefined.

~~~
mgcross
It seems to execute a mailto to the same email address with a subject of
"Developer Device Program NA TouchPad"

~~~
jdhzzz
Yes, that is what it did for me when I clicked it. It brought up a new email
in Thunderbird (remember that?) filled in as you describe.

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iletina
Why do you need to give a company name in order to register as a developer?
Does anyone know if the deal is available to people who have just signed up?

~~~
aaront
I just put my name in there.

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morsch
So are they still making a loss at that price? iSuppli seems to think so, they
estimate about USD 300 in costs per Touchpad. But if that's true, why did they
resume production in late August? And now a developer program for a EOL
platform? It all seems sort of bizarre.

~~~
X-Istence
This is a musing of mine, so it may be completely wrong.

HP most likely "resumed production" so that they could clear out any remaining
stock. I can imagine that they had warehouses full of parts that were just not
put together yet and had already paid suppliers for. These would have been
written off and either sold back to the vendor or been destroyed. Also, it is
entirely possible that HP had a contract with their manufacturer for a certain
time period and if they broke that contract they would be out X where X is
bigger than Y which is the amount it would cost to build and ship these
devices at a loss.

This isn't the first time that I've seen a company do a "last run" to clear
out the remaining parts before shutting down a product for good.

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chaostheory
The thing that makes me hesitant about this is that it requires a paypal
account.

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ra
_Registered developers in the US, Canada, and Europe will be able to purchase
up to two TouchPads at a discount while supplies last._

No love for developers in Australia, New Zealand

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brianbreslin
Now semi off topic, aren't they killing webos? Why would you still want to
become a developer? The $150 price is a good deal though...

~~~
viraptor
It's a good device in general and with android coming in in the future,
knowing what I know now, I'd probably still buy it (got one already, so I
don't have to).

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richtaur
Going to be really difficult for Palm to compete in the tablet market given
their industry instability. They contacted us about getting our game onto an
HP TouchPad -- then promptly announced their discontinuation (???).

Plus, Google has already given me a free Galaxy Tab (for attending Google
I/O). Among that and my iPad, it's pretty easy to guess which I'll be hacking
on.

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zerovox
They seem to be sold out in UK and US online stores at the moment though.

~~~
fernandose
Yeah I'm interested to know how this works too. Because according to the link,
HP give you a discount coupon, but where do we use the coupon?

~~~
ambiate
Terms and conditions: "Coupon codes are not valid anywhere but the HP online
store, and may not be used for any products intended for resale or OEM
activity as defined by HP, on employee purchase programs, retroactively on
previously purchased items, or for cash redemption."

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tucosan
Did anybody actually receive a coupon for a device from hp?

I sent a request with my developer account name in the email body, but haven't
received a coupon yet. Or is this some kind of lottery again?

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kwamenum86
This is, at the very least, and opportunity for arbitrage.

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Osiris
Looking at the page for the new TonidoPlug2, I wonder if the $150 HP Touchpad
could be used as a server?

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nvictor
what? where is the promised $99 good?

~~~
X-Istence
This is for the 32 GB TouchPad which sold at the fire-sale for $150. The $99
one was for a 16 GB TouchPad which apparently they no longer have.

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mannicken
It's funny how the title reads as:

"[THEY WILL GIVE YOU] $149 for a Touchpad if you sign up as a developer [THAT
YOU CAN ACTUALLY JUST TAKE IN CASH]."

When the reality is: "This Touchpad costs $149 if you go through a bunch of
complicated forms, give away your info.. oh, and in reality, it costs like a
lot less than $149 even so we'll still be making a shitload of money from it."

