HP

Tablets
August 15, 2012
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HP declines to join the Microsoft Surface hate parade

By on August 15, 2012 at 2:10 PM.

HP declines to join the Microsoft Surface hate parade

Microsoft Surface Praise

At least one Microsoft (MSFT) OEM partner seems to realize that there’s no point in bellyaching over Microsoft’s decision to build its own tablet. CRN reports that John Solomon, the senior vice president of sales for HP’s (HPQ) Americas division, doesn’t see the Surface as a threat to Windows OEMs and instead thinks that the Surface is simply a benchmark for other manufacturers to follow when making their own devices. More →

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Business
August 15, 2012
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Zombie webOS resurrected in HP’s new ‘Gram’ business

By on August 15, 2012 at 12:05 PM.

Zombie webOS resurrected in HP’s new ‘Gram’ business

HP webOS Gram

It’s hard to keep an undead mobile operating system down. webOS Nation reports that HP (HPQ) is forming a new company called Gram that is dedicated to “leveraging the core strengths of webOS, Enyo and our cloud offerings.” As the site notes, the founding of Gram means that HP will not be using webOS for consumer electronics anymore and will instead use it for its enterprise products including “software, user experience, the cloud, engineering, and partnering.” However, there’s still no official word on what the company’s offerings will be, and webOS Nation says that current webOS employees “are being advised that they can talk to friends and family about Gram, but strangers are to be told that ‘Gram is a new company. We are in stealth mode on our product offering.’ ” More →

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Business
August 10, 2012
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Analysts dub HP the ‘comeback kid’ despite imminent $9 billion quarterly loss

By on August 10, 2012 at 7:40 AM.

Analysts dub HP the ‘comeback kid’ despite imminent $9 billion quarterly loss

HP Financial Outlook

No, reporting a $9 billion quarterly loss is never a good thing. But AllThingsD is reporting that many analysts think HP (HPQ) is still well-positioned to compete in the near future, and argue that the quarter’s massive loss was unavoidable as the company needed to air out missteps made on former CEO Leo Apotheker’s watch. Noted analysts Amit Daryanani of RBC Capital Markets and Shaw Wu of Sterne Agee, for example, both thought that HP would outperform expectations in the coming quarters now that the company had already weathered the worst in terms of both layoffs and the multibillion dollar write-down charges it has incurred from its 2008 Electronic Data Systems acquisition. “This raise is surprising given the consensus negative view and expectations of a potential miss,” wrote Wu. “We view restructuring as a positive as the company is taking steps to clean up its balance sheet and reignite growth.”

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Business
August 8, 2012
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HP braces for record $9 billion quarterly loss

By on August 8, 2012 at 2:05 PM.

HP braces for record $9 billion quarterly loss

HP Q3 2012 Earnings Guidance

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) announced on Wednesday that it will report its biggest-ever quarterly loss for the third quarter of fiscal 2012. Amid a number of organizational changes, HP said on Wednesday that it has revised its third-quarter earnings guidance up to $1.00 per share from its previous estimate of between $0.94 and $0.97 per share. The better-than-expected performance will be entirely wiped out by a one-time charge HP will take related to its 2008 acquisition of Electronic Data Systems, however. The company will take an $8 billion charge in the third quarter related to that $14 billion merger, and including the massive writeoff, HP expects to report a loss of as much as $4.49 per share, or approximately $8.85 billion. HP’s full press release follows below. More →

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Tablets
August 3, 2012
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HP TouchPad still marginally useful with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean port

By on August 3, 2012 at 9:30 PM.

HP TouchPad still marginally useful with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean port

HP Touchpad Android 4.1

Don’t toss the HP (HPQ) TouchPad into the ashcan of history just yet… SlashGear reports that it’s one of the few tablets out there so far that can deliver a barely functional version of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean. The TouchPad’s Jelly Bean port comes courtesy of the CyanogenMod 10 that has already been tested out successfully on several smartphones, including the Samsung (005930) Galaxy Note, the Samsung Galaxy S III and the HTC (2498) One X. But the TouchPad port marks the first time the mod has been used to port Jelly Bean into a device that doesn’t natively run Android, and SlashGear reports that it has unsurprisingly wrecked some of the TouchPad’s key features such as audio, graphics acceleration, the front-facing camera and the microphone. To put it mildly, users should port Jelly Bean over to their TouchPads at their own risk. More →

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Computers
July 12, 2012
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Ultrabooks flop in Q2, PC market implodes as Apple wins in the U.S.

By on July 12, 2012 at 8:30 AM.

Ultrabooks flop in Q2, PC market implodes as Apple wins in the U.S.

PC Sales Q2 2012 Gartner

Market research firm Gartner paints a grim picture of the PC market in the second quarter this year as shipments dropped more than 5% in the United States and stayed flat globally. HP remained the world’s top PC vendor worldwide as shipments of HP desktops and laptops slid 12.1% to 13.04 million, and chief U.S. rival Dell dropped 11.5% to ship 9.35 million units. Asian vendors Lenovo, Acer and ASUS each showed growth during the quarter, but not enough to offset tepid ultrabook demand. More →

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Tablets
June 29, 2012
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HP ditches Windows RT tablet plans, Microsoft Surface to blame

By on June 29, 2012 at 2:45 PM.

HP ditches Windows RT tablet plans, Microsoft Surface to blame

HP Windows RT Tablet Canceled

Hewlett-Packard originally planned to release a Windows RT-powered tablet later this year. Due to Microsoft’s recent Surface announcement and the high cost of licenses, however, the PC maker has scrapped its RT tablet plans. The rumor was first reported by SemiAccurate, which is also hearing that “just about every OEM out there is scrapping one or more [Windows RT] designs, with most renewing Android efforts with every resource at their disposal.” More →

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mobile
May 25, 2012
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HP's webOS team may join Google

By on May 25, 2012 at 5:00 PM.

HP's webOS team may join Google

Google Hires WebOS Team

HP’s open source webOS team, known as Enyo, will reportedly be leaving the company and joining Google, according to The Verge. The computer giant in December announced its failed webOS mobile operating system would move to an open-source model under the name Enyo, with version 1.0 slated for release in September 2012. The website’s sources claim the entire Enyo team will not be headed for Google, but Matt McNulty, the head of the project, will be among those departing. This wouldn’t be the first time the Internet giant has hired former webOS workers; Android’s current design chief Matias Duarte oversaw the creation of the user interface for the operating system while working at Palm. It is unclear if the Enyo team members will be joining the Android group or another Google project. More →

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Business
May 23, 2012
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HP beats the Street in Q2; confirms plans to cut 27,000 jobs as Q3 guidance misses

By on May 23, 2012 at 4:19 PM.

HP beats the Street in Q2; confirms plans to cut 27,000 jobs as Q3 guidance misses

HP Q2 2012 Earnings

Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday reported its second-quarter earnings that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Analysts expected the computer giant to report revenue of $29.92 billion and earnings of $0.91 per share, but the company surprised analysts when it reported earnings of $0.98 per share on sales of $30.69 billion. HP also confirmed new restructuring plans that will involve 27,000 job cuts, or 8% of the company’s workforce, and it expects to save more than $3 billion as a result. “We are making progress in our multi-year effort to make HP simpler, more efficient and better for customers, employees, and shareholders,” said Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer. “This quarter we exceeded our previously provided outlook and are executing against our strategy, but we still have a lot of work to do.” Third-quarter guidance came in at $0.94-$0.97 per share, below expectations of $1.02 per share. HP’s full press release follows below. More →

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Business
May 17, 2012
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HP may cut 25,000 jobs

By on May 17, 2012 at 4:00 PM.

HP may cut 25,000 jobs

HP Layoffs 2012

Hewlett-Packard is reportedly mulling a massive workforce reduction that will see as many as 25,000 jobs cut from the company. Bloomberg cites unnamed sources in reporting on the potential layoffs, which would amount to 8% of HP’s global workforce. Between 10,000 and 15,000 of the cuts could come from HP’s enterprise services group, and several thousand of the workers affected by the possible layoffs may be offered early-retirement packages. HP confirmed in March that it would undergo a major reorganization that would see its Personal Systems Group merge with its Imaging and Printing Group, but it did not announce any wide-scale layoffs at that time. The struggling vendor will report its results for the second fiscal quarter next Wednesday. More →

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Computers
April 12, 2012
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Intel may launch Ivy Bridge processors on April 23rd

By on April 12, 2012 at 10:15 PM.

Intel may launch Ivy Bridge processors on April 23rd

Intel is expected to move up the announcement of its next-generation Ivy Bridge processors from the original date of April 29th to April 23rd, Digitimes reported on Thursday. ASUS, Acer, Lenovo and Hewlett-Packard are all preparing to release their second generation of ultrabooks in May, with average prices expected to “rapidly” drop from $999 to $699. To promote ultrabooks, Intel has also reportedly set up a $300 million fund to assist its partners in ultrabook design as well as research and development. Earlier rumors have suggested that Apple is planning to refresh its iMac family of computers with Intel’s 22nm-based Core i5 and Core i7 Ivy Bridge processors in June or July. The Cupertino-based company is also said to be ramping up production in preparation for thinner 13- and 15-inch MacBook Pro models. More →

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Business
March 30, 2012
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Apple’s Tim Cook named most popular CEO of 2012

By on March 30, 2012 at 8:30 PM.

Apple’s Tim Cook named most popular CEO of 2012

Glassdoor on Friday revealed its latest list of the “Top 25 Highest Rated CEOs of 2012.” Apple’s Tim Cook took the top spot with a 97% approval rating, leading Ernst & Young’s Jim Turley, Qualcomm’s Paul Jacobs and Google’s Larry Page. “I think leadership is doing an amazing job,” said one Apple employee. “We have the best management team anywhere.” When Steve Jobs stepped down in August 2011, the late Apple co-founder garnered a cumulative approval rating of 97%, however Cook leads Jobs’s rating of 95% from March 2010 to March 2011. While it has been a tough year for Hewlett-Packard, the company’s new CEO Meg Whitman also made the list with an 80% approval rating, placing her in the  No. 24 spot. Glassdoor bases the list entirely on feedback from anonymous employees who were asked one question — do they approve of the way their CEO is leading the company? More →

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Business
March 21, 2012
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HP confirms reorganization, PC and printer groups to merge

By on March 21, 2012 at 9:20 AM.

HP confirms reorganization, PC and printer groups to merge

Hewlett-Packard on Wednesday confirmed earlier reports of a major reorganization within the company. The firm plans to merge its Personal Systems Group, responsible for PCs, with its Imaging and Printing Group. Current boss of the company’s printer division Vyomesh Joshi will retire after 31 years at the company, and current PSG executive vice president Todd Bradley will run the combined operations. ”This combination will bring together two businesses where HP has established global leadership,” HP CEO Meg Whitman said. “By providing the best in customer-focused innovation and operational efficiency, we believe we will create a winning scenario for customers, partners and shareholders.” HP’s full press release follows below. More →

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