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How does it help HP sell servers, printers, PCs, calculators, test instruments, or enterprise software when they burn billions of dollars in an attempt to trash the tablet market?

This just doesn't seem complicated to me: there is no clear path for HP to make money on these tablets at the price points we're talking about. Therefore: they shouldn't sell them.

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You don't agree that it is existential for HP to be in tablet business, even if it generates negative or close to zero margin (much like their PC, printer etc. office equipment businesses do now)?

How long do you think will they be able to sell their printer ink (has to be their highest margin business) if they don't compete in tablet space?

edit: so yeah, turns out they're actually spinning off tablets together with PC division as low margin businesses. Doesn't mean that whoever ends up with it (Samsung?) will have to do both.

I'm guessing: for as long as people are still buying printer ink.

I have to admit to being confused by this: what does selling printer ink have to do with selling tablets?

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