webOS

Legal
September 16, 2011
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Shareholder sues HP for bailing on webOS, TouchPad

By on September 16, 2011 at 10:21 AM.

Shareholder sues HP for bailing on webOS, TouchPad

HP shareholder Richard Gammell has filed a class-action lawsuit against HP after the company made the drastic decision to kill off the TouchPad in August, which resulted in a 20% drop in share price the following day, Reuters reported. Gammell argued in the suit that HP failed to inform investors the webOS operating system was no longer a major part of the company’s plans moving forward, and that the company had revamped its business plan without telling shareholders. Those actions, Gammell argues, artificially inflated HP’s share price. Gammell is seeking damages for any HP investor who purchased stock between November 22, 2010 and August 18th, 2011. More →

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mobile
September 15, 2011
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Jefferies: Facebook is ‘best fit’ to acquire webOS from HP

By on September 15, 2011 at 5:25 PM.

Jefferies: Facebook is ‘best fit’ to acquire webOS from HP

As Hewlett-Packard reportedly toys with the idea of selling off its webOS software division, a new possible suitor may emerge from the dust following the burial of HP’s failed webOS devices. In a note to investors on Thursday, Jefferies & Company analyst Peter Misek suggests that Facebook might be in the best position to purchase webOS and use it to expand its lead in the social space. “Based on our analysis of prospective buyers and our checks, we believe Facebook is the best fit,” the analyst wrote according to Tech Trader Daily. Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 15, 2011
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And the ‘must-have’ tech product of 2011 is… HP’s TouchPad?

By on September 15, 2011 at 1:15 PM.

And the ‘must-have’ tech product of 2011 is… HP’s TouchPad?

Research firm Canalys recently sent a note to its clients that suggested HP might have better luck spinning off its PC business if it revived its webOS-powered TouchPad tablet. Canalys said the TouchPad could boost the value of HP’s computer division by as much as twofold, given the recent popularity of the tablet at its lower $99 price point. “The TouchPad was overpriced at launch and did not sell,” Canalys said in a note Thursday. “This led HP to draw a premature conclusion that the product category had failed.” Of course, the “hype” surrounding HP’s tablet likely had little to do with the tablet itself. Instead, a retail rush resulted from a fire sale and the media’s coverage of that sale. Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 12, 2011
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HTC may buy its own smartphone OS

By on September 12, 2011 at 9:00 AM.

HTC may buy its own smartphone OS

HTC has seen tremendous success with its Android smartphones, reporting record revenue month after month thanks to ballooning handset shipments. HTC’s Android smartphones are also the target of numerous patent attacks, however, and despite new-found support from Google, the Taiwan-based vendor is reportedly investigating alternative paths. After all, Google’s free operating system is getting expensive. Perhaps as a result, a report from Focus Taiwan states that HTC chairwoman Cher Wang has confirmed that the vendor is considering a purchase of a new smartphone operating system. Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 5, 2011
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Questions surrounding HP’s PC business deter enterprise customers

By on September 5, 2011 at 2:00 PM.

Questions surrounding HP’s PC business deter enterprise customers

HP’s customers are wary of purchasing new products from the company after its recent decision to kill off its webOS mobile operating system and possibly spin off its PC business. The chief information officer of Fluor Corp Ray Barnard told The Wall Street Journal his company typically spends $25 million per year upgrading its hardware and software. Barnard said that Fluor Corp was considering purchasing a number of HP computers capable of displaying 3D graphics, but has instead decided not to purchase from the company just yet. “I’ve put that all on hold” he told The Wall Street Journal. “It appears that they’re lost right now.” Read on for more. More →

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Tablets
September 2, 2011
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HP’s failed TouchPad tablet to get one last run in October

By on September 2, 2011 at 12:31 PM.

HP’s failed TouchPad tablet to get one last run in October

Gadget collectors and consumers looking for a high tech bathroom companion are in luck. According to anonymous industry sources speaking to DigiTimes, Hewlett-Packard’s manufacturing partners are prepping one last TouchPad run that HP will then attempt to sell off beginning in late October. The site claims HP has ordered the production of between 100,000 and 200,000 TouchPad tablets that will then be sold off at a discount. It is currently not known if HP intends to match the prices from its earlier sale, during which retailers were charging $99 for the base 16GB model and $149 for twice the storage. HP also intended to launch a 7-inch “TouchPad Go” model for which parts had been ordered from suppliers, but those plans were scrapped according to the report. HP announced during its earnings call last month that the 2-month-old TouchPad tablet would be put to sleep along with the rest of HP’s webOS hardware efforts. HP said it will keep the software platform alive, put webOS on printers and personal computers, and attempt to license it out to hardware vendors, but we’re not sure which companies HP has in mind as potential licensees. Certainly not Samsung. More →

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mobile
September 2, 2011
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Samsung will ‘never’ buy webOS, CEO says

By on September 2, 2011 at 9:00 AM.

Samsung will ‘never’ buy webOS, CEO says

During the IFA trade show in Berlin on Friday, Samsung Electronics CEO Choi Gee Sung addressed rumors and speculation that Samsung was considering purchasing webOS from HP. Choi said Samsung would “never” make the purchase, according to Bloomberg. “It’s not right that acquiring an operating system is becoming a fashion,” he said. Samsung Mobile already has its own mobile operating system called bada and just released version 2.0. It also sells smartphones running Android and Microsoft’s Windows Phone platform. HP, which recently announced that it is ostensibly killing off the mobile operating system, has been working with other technology firms to license webOS. While Samsung may not buy webOS outright, the Korean-based company has held talks to license webOS for new smartphones, Bloomberg said, but it is still unclear how those discussions turned out. Considering the success Samsung is currently enjoying with Android and bada, however, we’re not sure HP will be able to convince Samsung that there is any real value in adopting an OS that it couldn’t even sell to users itself. More →

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Tablets
August 30, 2011
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One last batch of TouchPads on the way, HP says

By on August 30, 2011 at 5:15 PM.

One last batch of TouchPads on the way, HP says

HP’s public relations manager Mark Budgell wrote a blog post Tuesday afternoon confirming a report from Reuters earlier in the day in which HP vice president Todd Bradley suggested the company would resurrect its TouchPad tablet. “Despite announcing an end to manufacturing webOS hardware, we have decided to produce one last run of TouchPads to meet unfulfilled demand,” Budgell wrote. “We don’t know exactly when these units will be available or how many we’ll get, and we can’t promise we’ll have enough for everyone. We do know that it will be at least a few weeks before you can purchase.” HP says it will manufacture the tablets during the fourth fiscal quarter of this year, which ends on October 31st. It is unclear if the new batch will be priced from $99, which had previously resulted in a quick fire sale of the tablet. More →

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Business
August 30, 2011
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HP may resurrect TouchPad, head of PC business says

By on August 30, 2011 at 10:01 AM.

HP may resurrect TouchPad, head of PC business says

On August 18th, HP announced that it was killing off its webOS devices business and considering a possible spin-off of its personal systems group (PSG). The head of HP’s PC business, executive vice president Todd Bradley, discussed the TouchPad and his company’s PC business with Reuters, explaining that a spin-off could be the “best value” for HP’s investors instead of an outright sale to competitors such as Acer or Lenovo. “Regardless of what happens, we’re the largest PC company in the world,” Bradley explained. “We need everybody energized, and while this isn’t business as usual, we need people to go out and sell products every day,” he said, noting that HP will still remain a major customer to suppliers such as LG, Microsoft, Intel and Samsung. At least one analyst has remarked that a spin-off could kill HP’s brand value. Even more surprising, however is Bradley’s remarks about HP’s TouchPad, which the company recently discontinued and sold off in a fire sale. According to Reuters, Bradley said HP may resurrect the TouchPad and noted that the tablet computing segment is “relevant, absolutely.” While Bradley appears to be standing by HP, BGR exclusively reported on August 22nd that the executive is looking to leave the company for a CEO role at another firm. More →

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Business
August 29, 2011
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Samsung said to be considering webOS acquisition from HP

By on August 29, 2011 at 9:40 AM.

Samsung said to be considering webOS acquisition from HP

Following rumors that Samsung was considering a purchase of Hewlett-Packard’s PC business — rumors that Samsung would later deny — DigiTimes is having another go at this potential unholy union. This time around, however, the site claims Samsung is eying HP’s webOS platform instead of its PC business. DigiTimes on Monday reported that Samsung has hired HP’s ex-vice president of PSG marketing Raymond Wah to head up Samsung’s PC business. The report goes on to claim that Samsung is also “considering purchasing webOS to compete head on against Apple and Google, according to sources from notebook players.” The South Korea-based electronics giant is clearly having issues with Android right now. Despite Google’s OS having helped Samsung climb to the No. 2 spot among global smartphone vendors, it also brought with it a flurry of patent-related lawsuits from Apple and other companies. Google just announced its intention to acquire Motorola for $12.5 billion, however, and this purchase is intended in part to help the company defend itself and Android partners against patent complaints from Apple, Microsoft and other combatants in the patent wars. Beyond that, Samsung also has its own in-house smartphone platform, bada, which is seeing success in the Asian market. Samsung declined to comment. More →

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Business
August 26, 2011
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HP's PC blunder will deteriorate HP brand value, analyst says

By on August 26, 2011 at 7:01 AM.

HP's PC blunder will deteriorate HP brand value, analyst says

It remains to be seen whether Hewlett-Packard’s upcoming overhaul will pay off in the long run, but one things seems clear: the manner in which HP revealed its plans was ill-conceived at best. HP’s announcements sent its stock tumbling, and analysts continue to lose faith in the company as unrest builds. In a note to investors on Thursday, RBC Capital Markets analyst Amit Daryanani cut his rating on HP stock to Sector Perform from Outperform, and he lowered his price target $5 to $30. Daryanani says HP’s announcement that it may spin off or sell its PC business “will accelerate the deterioration of HP’s brand and asset value,” and he thinks competitors will gain market share as a result. The analyst also believes HP’s decision to kill off its webOS device business could devalue the company’s PC division if it opts for a sale. He thinks a quick sale would be a good move for HP, though he writes that a cut in company forecast or increased buybacks are also options. More →

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Software
August 22, 2011
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WebOS developers flocking to Windows Phone, Microsoft director says

By on August 22, 2011 at 2:35 PM.

WebOS developers flocking to Windows Phone, Microsoft director says

Microsoft is offering to help published webOS developers create applications for its Windows Phone platform. The response has been very positive so far, according to Windows Phone 7 director Brandon Watson. Here’s how Microsoft began poaching: on August 19th, Watson tweeted: “To any published webOS devs: We’ll give you what you need to be successful on #Windows Phone, including free phones, dev tools and training, etc.” The next day Watson said he received more than 500 emails, and that he had to “rethink the algorithm” for responding to all of the developers. Watson explained that HP “abandoned the platform,” and that developers’ lives are now impacted as a result. “We offer an alternative,” Watson tweeted. “webOS guys had a bit of a rough week … so we’re looking out for them.” Published webOS devs who are interested in getting on board with Microsoft can email ThePhone@Microsoft.com to get started. Read on for Watson’s letter to webOS developers. More →

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Featured
August 20, 2011
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No, HP, you're off the mark

By on August 20, 2011 at 9:50 AM.

No, HP, you're off the mark

Oh nooo. That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I began to read Jon Zilber’s post on HP’s company blog. Quoting Mark Twain? Oh no he didn’t. In a nutshell, Zilber’s intent was to correct the world’s press, which collectively played Taps while standing over webOS’s grave this past week. ”To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports about the demise of webOS have been off the mark,” Zilber wrote. ”HP has made these tough decisions to ensure that our efforts with webOS remain tightly focused. Far from burying webOS, our goal is to ensure the platform’s evolution as a robust operating system for an increasingly mobile and connected world.” OK, time to set the record straight. Read on for more.

More →

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