Smartphones: PinStack.com - HP Negotiating Licensing of WebOS

There may be an expanded OS on the block! HP, the largest PC manufacturer on Planet Earth and the bitter owner of the Palm smartphone brand is in negotiations with several smartphone manufacturers to license WebOS, their mobile operating system. Quoting Leo Apotheker, Chief Executive Officer @ HP:

We are talking to a number of companies. I can share with you that a number of companies have expressed interest. We are continuing our conversations.

The move would be good for both the manufacturers of competing smartphones, and the WebOS system itself. It would be nice to have something other than Windows Phone 7 and Android to combat the goliath iOS operating system. More choice would be good for the marketplace, methinks! Also, it would give HP the chance to finally make some profit off of the dead weight Palm purchasing decision.

But what does this mean for the Palm (or, rather, what used to be the Palm) smartphone line? If the emphasis is shifting to the OS, rather than the device, does this mean the HP is eventually going to drop the venerable old organizer/phone in favor of developing the OS? Conjecture, sure, but possible.

PC sales are down. Thanks to Tablets and monster smartphones and laptops and netbooks, PC sales are draaaagggggyyyyy . . . . which may mean HP's leadership in that category is becoming less and less meaningful. Perhaps they are entering panic mode? They gotta do something to stay profitable? And WebOS is their savior? We'll see . . . .

source

markstone@pinstack.com