Wow. In a span of just two months HP has done a complete 180. Just a few weeks ago they were talking about the importance of controlling both the hardware and software and now it’s being reported that they’re bidding adieu to WebOS and kissing the HP TouchPad and WebOS-based phones goodbye.
As for the future of WebOS, which it acquired when it purchased Palm last Summer for $1.2 billion, HP said that it “will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.”
Last month HP released the TouchPad, it’s entry into the increasingly crowded tablet market. The device, however, wasn’t warmly received by reviewers and reportedly was a complete dud at Best Buy where the retailing giant was said to have sold less than 10% of the TouchPads it purchased from HP.
Best Buy, sources tell us, is so unhappy that it has told HP it’s unwilling to pay for all the TouchPads it has taking up expensive space in its stores and warehouses and wants HP to take them back. HP, for its part, is pleading with Best Buy to be patient. We’re also told a senior HP executive, possibly executive VP Todd Bradley, is slated to travel to Minneapolis soon to discuss the matter with Best Buy executives.
Well, so much for that.
Back in June HP CEO Leo Apotheker intimated that the company would be open to licensing out WebOS to third party manufacturers.
via Yahoo
Thu, Aug 18, 2011
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