Will HP release new mobile Devices in 2012:
After the pretty huge news this Friday that HP will be giving their webOS operating system out to the open source community.
Memo from Meg Whitman CEO of HP to employees on Friday:
Today, we announced that HP will contribute our webOS software to the open source community and support its development going forward. We believe that this is the best way to ensure the benefits of webOS are accessible to the largest possible ecosystem.
It appears that HP will however be returning to mobile device manufacturing, and eventually these will also be based on webOS.
The proof comes from an interview with Meg Whitman on the Verge and seems to show that HP plan to create further webOS based mobile devices in the near and distant future.
Contained within the interview are some clear statements suggesting that HP will return to device manufacture at some point in the future, though the initial return to mobile device manufacturing looks set to be with a tablet running on Windows 8 O/S for now.
HP will build a Windows based tablet for 2012:
Yes HP are planning to build a windows base tablet for release in 2012.
Whitman is quoted saying:
“We’ll continue to invest in the existing tablet ecosystem” and in the near term “will bet heavily with Windows.”
HP will make webOS mobile devices in the future
Asked if they will create new webOS devices also, Meg Whitman HP CEO states:
“The answer to that is yes but what I can’t tell you is whether that will be in 2012 or not,”
Offering no clear dates or times it would however appear that there is a desire or capability to return to device manufacture, something which looked unclear only recently, but it looks likely to be later rather than sooner.
Whitman went on to say:
“…we will use webOS in new hardware, but it’s just going to take us a little longer to reorganize the team in a quite different direction than we’ve been taking it in the past.”
Hewlett Packard more interested in Tablets for now:
According to dialogue on Techcruch, a new HP webOS based tablet device could appear as soon as 2013.
It is looking like HP will be sticking with the more PC related side of the business that they are known for, as opposed to smartphones, which they perhaps do not have the best reputation for or presence in peoples minds and thoughts when thinking about HP in general.
It would appear that HP are starting to get some drive, focus and commitment back within their ranks after a really tough 2011. And it also seems that Meg Whitman is the right person for the job after all.
Anthony Munns