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Pull the plug?

HP’s TouchPad also didn’t have the apps presence or a store, comparable to iTunes, that is necessary to drive consumer interest. At launch, HP boasted some 300 apps would be available for the TouchPad, compared with the roughly 90,000 that were available to Apple’s iPad.

- HP TouchPad is a casualty of iPad’s popularity, USAToday.com, August 19, 2011.

3. More than 1,000 jobs are under threat after retailer Carphone Warehouse announced it was pulling the plug on its Best Buy stores in the UK.

The company has launched a consultation about closing the 11 shops as it shifts its focus to selling more electronics goods through its Carphone Warehouse outlets.

Carphone hopes to find the “large majority” of the 1,100 staff roles elsewhere within the organisation.

Best Buy UK operates the so-called “big box” stores across the south east and Midlands, which were launched to great fanfare in 2009, and were intended to shake up the electronics market with cheaper prices and better customer service.

But consumer electronics has been one of the hardest-hit sectors during the downturn as the squeeze on household incomes has seen shoppers turn their backs on perceived luxury items.

The company said the market had suffered as a result of the economic downturn, online competition and the growth of new products, such as smartphones and tablet computers.