Shawn and I talk about this on this weeks podcast a bit (not out just yet), but I wanted to touch on a few things about this.
1. The $400 per device number probably is not accurate, this was not a buyback for just Best Buy — likely for all retailers. I would guess the number is $200 per device if not lower.
2. It is not clear whether HP wants these devices back and thus are repaying retailers for the wholesale prices paid, or if HP was contractually obligated to do this once they canned the project. My guess is the latter which is why all of the devices are still on sale at Best Buy and other retailers, and buyback would mean that those sales would likely stop immediately.
All we know is that there is a $100 million dollar charge as a result of unsold TouchPads — any reporting beyond that is pure speculation.