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.

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