When HP snapped up Palm we thought it meant that webOS smartphones were saved. Hell, we just said exactly that during our Palm Pixi Plus unboxing. But it seems we might have got the wrong end of the stick. HP head honcho Mark Hurd has revealed his plans for Palm and while webOS tablets are definitely on the way, it could be the end of the line for Palm smartphones. Read on for words that will cause Palm fans serious pain…
Hopping on stage at the suit-stuffed Bank Of America Merrill Lynch Technology conference, Hurd said: “We’re not going to spend billions of dollars trying to get into the smartphone business; that doesn’t in any way make sense.” Faced with foes including iPhone 4.0, Android temptations like the HTC Sense and the upcoming Nokia N8, he could well be right.
He continued: “We didn’t buy Palm to be in the smartphone business.” So why did HP pick the phone maker up from the floor? It’s all about the webOS patents. Hurd says: “We have tens of millions of HP small form factor web-connected devices…imagine a web-connected environment where you can get a common look and feel and a common set of devices…”
Besides webOS-powered tablets, HP has already revealed that it’s planning webOS printers. But Hurd seems to be suggesting it’ll go even further with a whole slew of new devices. That could be a smart strategy but is HP right to ditch webOS smartphones?
Read our Palm Pixi review for our take on webOS and head to the comments to let us know whether you’ll be sad to see the demise of Palm smartphones. We’re already having nostalgic thoughts about our Palm Pilot.
Out TBC | £TBC | HP (via Palm Central)
