HP has a long road to travel to catch up with Apple and Google in the mobile OS race, but it has the resources to make the effort, and CEO Leo Apotheker is signaling that it's beginning its quest in earnest. The company wants to pull some partners into the effort, building an ecosystem that will surpass the efforts of Microsoft and RIM, and rival the market leaders.
HP is readying the launch of its 9.7-inch TouchPad tablet, which will run on webOS. It will compete against Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) market-dominating iPad and a slew of tablets runningAndroid, which has gained wide acceptance on smartphones.
HP's inability to bring webOS to market sooner was regrettable, Apotheker said, but added that he is now focused on getting it out and proving its value.
WebOS will be adopted by many partners that provide services to small-to-medium businesses, he suggested.
HP plans to use webOS for its smartphones and all printers over $100. Apotheker is aiming for the No. 3 spot in the smartphone market, behind Android and Apple.
Palm did not have the resources to successfully implement webOS, Apotheker acknowledged, but he is confident and optimistic that HP can do the job effectively.
HP did not respond to the E-Commerce Times' request for comments by press time.
HP (NYSE: HPQ) is trolling for partners as the computer giant attempts to build an ecosystem for webOS, the operating system it acquired last summer when it bought Palm for US$1.2 billion. CEO Leo Apotheker said that he sees webOS as a licensing opportunity.
At All Things Digital's D9 conference on Wednesday, Apotheker noted that webOS is an outstanding operating system and said HP would entertain the possibility of licensing its use to other companies, including smartphone giant HTC.HP is readying the launch of its 9.7-inch TouchPad tablet, which will run on webOS. It will compete against Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) market-dominating iPad and a slew of tablets runningAndroid, which has gained wide acceptance on smartphones.
HP's inability to bring webOS to market sooner was regrettable, Apotheker said, but added that he is now focused on getting it out and proving its value.
WebOS will be adopted by many partners that provide services to small-to-medium businesses, he suggested.
HP plans to use webOS for its smartphones and all printers over $100. Apotheker is aiming for the No. 3 spot in the smartphone market, behind Android and Apple.
Palm did not have the resources to successfully implement webOS, Apotheker acknowledged, but he is confident and optimistic that HP can do the job effectively.
HP did not respond to the E-Commerce Times' request for comments by press time.
