C-142XL Is Sold Out - No Plans to Restock

[AzureAbyss]

Talking with Kale today at Gateway, and this is what he said:

C-142XL is sold out
NO plans to re-stock.
Going to an all Retail Business
All of the People selling the tablets online are laid-off.

Here is the transcript:


Kale joined the incident.
Kale says:
Welcome to Gateway Sales Chat! My name is Kale, and I will be helping you from North Sioux City, South Dakota. You can reach me by email at kale.spartz@gateway.com. May I please get your phone number for future reference?

TB says:
Good afternoon Kale

TB says:
Hey, what happened to the C-142XL? Are they going to a C-143XL for the third quarter or....?

Kale says:
possibly through retail

Kale says:
no direct plans though

TB says:
so why is it not listed on your website? The C-142XL that is?

Kale says:
that is sold out, no plans to restock
TB says:
So what are they going to do for a higher-end tablet?

Kale says:
gateway is changing its business model and you will no longer be able to purchase such items online... only through retail..

TB says:
Because the C-141 sucks vs. the C-142XL. So, you are saying that there will be a more powerful version of the C-14_XL coming out to retail soon or...?

Kale says:
im saying basically the tablet (gateway c-series) has never been offered retail.... gateway direct.... me and where the tablet has always been offered is closing this saturday.... with that being said...

TB says:
Whoa they're putting you out of a job? that's bunk

TB says:
Okay sorry just had to chime in on you losing your job

Kale says:
gateway has greater market share in the tablet pc industry than any of its competitors... its our strongest product per we originated the technology... so i cant imagie the guy up top would cut that product in general.... however... all gateways will only be obtainable through a retail channel

Kale says:
yep

TB says:
That's way messed up and sucks serious a$$

Kale says:
yeah its dissappointing

TB says:
Sorry man that's total bunk. So much for "American" Customer Service eh?

Kale says:
i know.... it was great while it lasted...

TB says:
Any idea of when this high-end Tablet is going to be in retail? And what retail stores?

Kale says: i'd say best buy.... thanks for that ..... we are supposed to be like best buy's premeire product... so thats your best bet.... circut city ... comp usa

Kale says: as far as when... my guess sometimes towards the end of the qtr

TB says: No prob man

TB says: Well that's a bunch of ...poo. Alright, I hate Best Buy but since your tablet is the best, I guess I'll have to wait

[Omnigamer]

... Damn. And here I was waiting until just before school to order mine. There go all the nifty online savings and sales bartering.

I really hope they keep up the product line. The T8k series CPU and various other aspects made it able to directly compete with typical notebooks on a performance level. It's a shame all of the customer service folks are getting sacked, too.

All in all, bad move, Gateway.

[Janos]

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Are you serious?

I have been trying to order one of these for WEEKS but since I'm in Canada, it's a long and difficult process. (I've managed to get an address in the U.S. to mail to, now I just need a U.S. Credit Card)

****! This seriously sucks. I want a new tablet for school (which is about 6 weeks from now) and I need a 14" model. Are there ANY other options?

------EDIT
Okay, so I read through it once more. Doesn't look like they're cancelling the lineup all together, just reformatting it. Selling these retail actually helps me, since I might be able to buy it local, or I'll just drive down to the boarder and buy one... I just hope they put something on the shelves before september

[leaftye]

All in all, bad move, Gateway.

It could be a really good thing for us. Costco sells Gateway, not the C-14x, but maybe they will.... Even though Costco has supposedly restricted their return policy, I've still be hearing about people returning computers lately like they would've under the old generous return policy. Costco prices can be rather good too.

[atom]

Wait.. all of this time you have never been able to get a gateway tablet via retail? Well no WOOOOONDER then. Of course they would opt for Retail sales rather then doing it online >_<. What a coincidence that this collides with the week Centrino 2 comes out eh?

[grajohnson75]

I wanted to hear this for myself so also I had a chat with a sales representative.

Here is the transcript:

Flip says:

Hi and thank you - I'm at 800 846 2042 ext 25686, what products can I help you with today?

Grady Johnson says:

Well, I read somewhere that you are sold out of the Gateway C-142X Series and have no future plans to restock. I was just wondering if that's true or not.

Flip says:

The is indeed true. Unfortunately they are done for good

Grady Johnson says:

Do you know if Gateway is planning to build/release a new tablet in the future?

Flip says:

Not to my knowledge

Grady Johnson says:

Wow thats too bad. I also heard that Gateway is going completely retail... is that also true?

Flip says:

that is also true, thank can send your condolences to flip.delashmutt@gateway.com

Flip says:

checks and donations also appreciated

Grady Johnson says:

Lol... that's really too bad. When are they planning to shut down the site?

Flip says:

Soon

Grady Johnson says:

Well thanks for answering my questions. I am sorry if you're being laid off...
especially now when the economy isn't doing to well.

Flip says:

I'll be heading back to school . I'll be fine and thank you

Grady Johnson says:

You're welcome. Have a nice night.

I found my representative to be rather humorous although this is really no laughing matter. I always have been fond of Gateway's tablets and I truly hope that they come out with a new one... and soon. I wonder how things will pan out for Gateway in the future and what made them decide to do this.

[yellowsno]

Ok, so I want to buy the C-141x, and I need it dirt cheap, like <$700.

I can get that with online coupons, but I am a student and am still like $50 short with all the discounts and coupons.

Will it be offered cheap in retail, or expensive? Do I need to buy now or can I wait so I don't have to borrow money?

Thanks

[Andy218]

So how long do you think it will be before the 143XL is in stores?

[grajohnson75]

Will it be offered cheap in retail, or expensive?

Usually computers are marked up in price when they are sold retail... especially those sold at Best Buy. If you want to get a decent price, be prepared to negotiate.

[Darak]

This rather sucks. I did speak to a rep earlier, named Carter, who said he hadn't heard anything about the website shutting down though.

I was all set to order tomorrow and have been waiting for like 2 weeks. Damnit.