The HP Touchpad. It’s cheap, it runs the cult favourite Web OS, it can be ported to Android and sporadically comes on sale for $99 (£63). You want it? Sure you do. Good news, then; it’s going to come back on sale for a very brief period of time. Read more
It’s been a while, but it seems webOS is finally at death’s door. During an earnings call to investors last night, HP openly discussed the, “… wind down of [its] webOS device business,” finally suggesting that the end is night for the OS which cost them $1.2 billion.
Ultrabooks have been back in the headlines in the past few days, with sluggish sales and talk of 2012 price drops dominating. But now HP has rocked up with its own effort, the Folio 13. And chances are this machine, with its relatively low price tag and impressive spec sheet, could jump start the entire slimline PC category. Read on for all the details.
HP might have confirmed it’s working on Windows 8 tablets for next year. But in the meantime, it’s looking to sate business punters with an upgrade to its Windows 7-packing Slate 500, the Slate 2. The original HP Slate was positioned as a pre-emptive strike by Microsoft and HP on the iPad. And the Skate 2 keeps many of the work-focused features of its predecessors.
The changes at the top of HP have led to a wholesale reevaluation of what was initially set to be one of the biggest slash and burn approaches in tech history. New CEO Meg Whitman’s decision to stay in the PC business, with Windows 8 tablets brought to the fore, has been widely welcomed. But it’s the news that webOS is not going to be killed off, as had been previously mooted, that will really turn heads.
The company’s Todd Bradley said over the weekend that news of the OS’s demise was “unfounded rumour”. But in order to survive, webOS needs to find itself on the right devices at the right time. Not only does that mean licensing the software, but licensing it immediately.
Gutted by HP’s decision to kill off its fledging TouchPad? Well, the PC giant’s new CEO has some good news. Meg Whitman has confirmed that the company will be making a Windows 8 tablet, while remaining coy about the future of the once-doomed webOS. Read on to see just what Whitman’s got planned.
Update: Sadly, we’ve just heard from HP that the final run of the HP TouchPad is a US-only deal. Here’s the company’s official statement:
“We are pleased by the response to webOS and look forward to customer feedback so we can further enhance the platform. A limited quantity of TouchPads will be available in the coming weeks in North America only. In EMEA we are discontinuing the webOS hardware operations and will not offer any additional products beyond what might be currently available in selective outlets.” Oh well…
Bummed that you missed out on a cut-price HP TouchPad? You could be in luck. HP has revealed that it plans to push out “one last run” of the webOS tablet to satisfy the demand created by slashing the price of the hardware. It also might just have more than a little to do with appeasing suppliers stuck with stacks of HP TouchPad components.
How many more units of the HP TouchPad will be up for grabs isn’t clear but the company is promising to get the final batch on the shelves imminently. Read on for full details of what appears to be the HP TouchPad’s last hurrah, unless HP goes and changes its mind again…
Here’s some kindling to keep the rumor mill burning. A report from DigiTimes suggests Samsung is considering purchasing webOS from HP. After recruiting HP’s ex-vice president of PSG marketing Raymond Wah to handle its PC sales, purchasing webOS would put Samsung in a position to competed head on with Apple and Google.
Previous rumors suggested Samsung was considering purchasing HP’s PC business. New findings have reveled the low gross margin of that business may actually hurt Samsung’s panel and DRAM businesses. Therefore webOS “may be the target” that Samsung has the most interest in.