webOS

mobile
January 25, 2012
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HP outlines the future of webOS, move to open source finished by September

By on January 25, 2012 at 3:40 PM.

HP outlines the future of webOS, move to open source finished by September

HP cut its losses last month and announced the company’s webOS mobile operating system would move to an open source model. On Wednesday, HP released a roadmap detailing the open source future of webOS. The company said it expects the software to be fully open-sourced by September, at which point it will be known as Open webOS 1.0. “HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community,” said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer at HP. “This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform’s development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications.” The second-generation Enyo framework, which debuted on the TouchPad, is now available with a bundle of related developer tools, and HP plans to release additional information nearly every month until September. The company also revealed that the mobile operating system will be moving to a standard Linux kernel in the hopes of attracting manufacturers who are experienced with Linux and Android. HP’s press release and roadmap can be found after the break. More →

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mobile
January 2, 2012
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Former Palm execs say webOS was doomed from the beginning

By on January 2, 2012 at 2:01 PM.

Former Palm execs say webOS was doomed from the beginning

HP recently made the decision to open source webOS, the mobile operating system it acquired when it bought Palm in April, 2010. While it’s arguable that HP was responsible for the demise of webOS, several former Palm executives told The New York Times that the operating system was doomed from the start. “Palm was ahead of its time in trying to build a phone software platform using web technology, and we just weren’t able to execute such an ambitious and breakthrough design,” former senior director of software at Palm Paul Mercer said. “Perhaps it never could have been executed because the technology wasn’t there yet.” Mercer explained that webOS relied too heavily on WebKit, which meant applications weren’t able to run as smoothly as they did on an iPhone. It also didn’t help that Palm wasn’t able to get a heavy developer following. A source speaking to The New York Times also said neither Palm nor HP could find the right engineers or leadership to help the platform take off and that there weren’t enough programmers to help build the OS. HP’s CEO Meg Whitman confirmed recently that new webOS hardware is still on the way, however, so perhaps the company has started to work out some of the operating system’s initial setbacks. Probably not, though. More →

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Business
December 29, 2011
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Looking back at 2011: HP kills, revives and then open sources webOS

By on December 29, 2011 at 2:00 PM.

Looking back at 2011: HP kills, revives and then open sources webOS

There’s no question about it: HP made one of the biggest blunders of the year when it comes to how the company handled Palm and webOS. During the past 12 months, HP relieved one CEO who was hired less than a year earlier in October 2010, killed off its webOS hardware, hired another CEO, brought webOS back from the dead and then open sourced it. The company also announced that it would discontinue its Pre, Veer and TouchPad products, but then flip-flopped and said we can expect new webOS devices in the future. It’s a confusing company to say the least, so let’s start all the way at the beginning and trace the curious path HP took with webOS this year. More →

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Business
December 28, 2011
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HP reportedly tried to offload Palm assets for $1.2 billion

By on December 28, 2011 at 10:50 PM.

HP reportedly tried to offload Palm assets for $1.2 billion

Hewlett-Packard has made some wild decisions regarding Palm and webOS following the acquisition in 2010. HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion in April of last year, killed webOS hardware, and then reportedly tried to sell Palm and the dead operating system for $1.2 billion, VentureBeat said Wednesday. Among the companies approached by HP? Facebook. According to the report, HP tried to offload webOS to the social network but the company was “practically laughed out of the room” by Facebook executives. HP eventually cut its losses and announced that it would contribute webOS to the open source community. Then, earlier this month, HP stunned the industry again when it said new webOS hardware, including a possible new tablet, is in development. More →

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Tablets
December 9, 2011
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HP CEO confirms new webOS hardware on the way, tablets possible

By on December 9, 2011 at 3:50 PM.

HP CEO confirms new webOS hardware on the way, tablets possible

HP announced on Friday that it will open-source its webOS mobile operating system, which once upon a time powered smartphones and a single tablet. Even though the company said quite some time ago that it was killing off it webOS hardware efforts, HP CEO Meg Whitman said in an interview with The Verge on Friday that HP plans to create new webOS-based devices in the future. “The answer to that is yes but what I can’t tell you is whether that will be in 2012 or not,” Whitman said when asked about the potential for new hardware. “But 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.” Whitman declined to elaborate on what webOS devices HP plans to build, but she did say tablets are possible. More →

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Breaking
December 9, 2011
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HP cuts its losses, makes webOS open source

By on December 9, 2011 at 1:40 PM.

HP cuts its losses, makes webOS open source

Hewlett-Packard on Friday announced that is is contributing its webOS platform to the open source software community. The company confirmed that it would not build any new webOS hardware for the time being, though it said it would continue to actively develop and support the operating system. “WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected and scalable,” said HP CEO Meg Whitman in a statement. “By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.” HP announced in August that it was discontinuing its webOS hardware efforts and now, more than three months later, the company has finally decided the fate of the platform. HP took ownership of webOS as part of its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm in July 2010. The company’s full press release follows below.

More →

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Business
November 30, 2011
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HP to decide fate of webOS within two weeks

By on November 30, 2011 at 11:45 AM.

HP to decide fate of webOS within two weeks

Hewlett-Packard’s webOS hardware is dead and buried but the fate of the platform itself remains to be determined. HP may hold on to the OS and use it on printers and PCs, and there have been plenty of rumors surrounding talks the company is having in an effort to license the platform to other firms. According to an interview in French newspaper Le Figaro, HP CEO Meg Whitman has gone on record in stating that a decision regarding the fate of webOS will be made within two weeks. HP took possession of webOS when it acquired Palm for $1.2 billion in 2010, and that buy yielded one failed tablet that was discontinued shortly after launching, three failed smartphones and soon, perhaps, the death of webOS itself. The promising mobile platform BGR once heralded as a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stagnant smartphone market now finds itself an afterthought in a space dominated by two major players: Apple and Google. As RIM prepares a fresh new OS in an attempt to regain momentum and Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform looks ready to take off, HP and any potential webOS licensees certainly have their work cut out for them. More →

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mobile
November 8, 2011
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HP may decide fate of webOS tonight

By on November 8, 2011 at 2:40 PM.

HP may decide fate of webOS tonight

HP is reportedly holding a meeting Tuesday night during which it may decide the fate of its webOS mobile platform, The Verge reported on Tuesday. The meeting will take place after the market closes and will be led by CEO Meg Whitman at 4:30 p.m. PST. According to Reuters, HP has been toying with the idea of selling the unit and possible suitors include Amazon, Intel, Oracle, Research In Motion and IBM. The potential sale will likely fetch far less than the $1.2 billion that HP paid to acquire Palm in 2010. HP originally said it was killing off webOS hardware in August, and recent reports have suggested HP will soon put the final nail in the webOS coffin and subsequently lay off 500 webOS employees.  More →

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Retail
October 31, 2011
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Best Buy offering $150 32GB TouchPad with HP notebook purchase

By on October 31, 2011 at 9:25 PM.

Best Buy offering $150 32GB TouchPad with HP notebook purchase

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again. Best Buy announced on Monday that customers who purchase an HP or Compaq laptop, desktop or all-in-one computer can opt to purchase an HP TouchPad tablet for an additional $149. The deal, which gives a small breath of life to a tablet that has already been killed-off by HP, kicks off on November 1st. Interested buyers can also purchase the TouchPad for $599.99, the tablet’s initial launch price, without buying an HP computer. As a quick refresher, the TouchPad offers a 9.7-inch XGA display, 32GB of storage, a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor and support for 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi and NFC. Read on for the full press release from Best Buy. More →

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Business
October 28, 2011
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HP Windows 8 tablets arriving next year, CEO says; webOS future up in the air

By on October 28, 2011 at 9:15 PM.

HP Windows 8 tablets arriving next year, CEO says; webOS future up in the air

During the company’s third-quarter earnings call on Thursday, HP CEO Meg Whitman confirmed that her company will launch tablets powered by Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system next year. “One of my observations is that HP tries to do a lot of things,” Whitman explained. “And I am a big believer in doing a small number of things really, really well — set them up, knock them down, set them up, knock them down.” Whitman’s comments are in-line with recent rumors that suggested that Dell and HP would both launch Windows 8 tablets during the third quarter next year. As for webOS, the mobile operating system HP’s former CEO Léo Apotheker basically killed off: “I think from a webOS perspective that’s kind of the next piece of work to complete … The whole team of Meg, Cathie, myself, John Visentin are working very, very hard and as quickly as we can to make the right decisions about that product,” HP’s personal systems group executive vice president Todd Bradley said. “We are going to make a decision about the long-term future of webOS within HP over the next couple of months.”  More →

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Business
October 28, 2011
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HP may layoff 500 employees, finally bury webOS

By on October 28, 2011 at 12:15 PM.

HP may layoff 500 employees, finally bury webOS

HP said earlier this year that it was planning to kill off its webOS hardware business, and reports suggested it was planning to sell the division to another company or that it might use the mobile operating system for smaller side projects. The Guardian reported on Friday that HP may kill off the division entirely and terminate as many as 500 employees who work with webOS. “There’s a 95% chance we all get laid off between now and November, and I for one am thinking it’s for the best,” an anonymous HP employee reportedly told The Guardian. HP has not pulled the trigger yet, however, and if its 180-degree turnaround on a decision to keep its PSG business as part of the company is any indication, we won’t know the webOS verdict until new CEO Meg Whitman hammers the final nail in its coffin or announced that it will be reborn.  More →

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Business
September 30, 2011
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Amazon may acquire remnants of Palm and webOS from HP

By on September 30, 2011 at 10:15 AM.

Amazon may acquire remnants of Palm and webOS from HP

Amazon is reportedly a front runner among multiple companies currently in talks with Hewlett-Packard to purchase its struggling webOS business. VentureBeat cites an anonymous “well-placed source” in reporting the HP is looking to dump what’s left of Palm and webOS as quickly as possible, and Amazon is nearing a deal to make the acquisition. Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 20, 2011
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HP to lay off 525 Palm employees this week

By on September 20, 2011 at 8:10 AM.

HP to lay off 525 Palm employees this week

HP will lay off as many as 525 employees from its Palm division this week AllThingsD reported on Tuesday. HP killed off its webOS mobile operating system in mid-August when it also announced it would discontinue the development of webOS devices such as the TouchPad and Palm Pre family of smartphones. “As part of this decision, the webOS GBU is undergoing a reduction in workforce,” an HP spokesperson explained. “Today’s actions are part of this initiative. During this time, we stand by our commitment to our webOS customers and will work to ensure that support and service for customers are not adversely affected. HP is exploring ways to leverage webOS software.” More →

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