HP planned to make phones and tablets based on WebOS, with the goal of being an Apple-like company that controlled hardware and software. But being like Apple isn't easy, and in light of dismal sales, HP scrapped its WebOS hardware plans last fall. Instead of killing WebOS, HP now plans to release it as open source software.
WebOS, the software behind HP’s failed TouchPad tablet and Palm’s failed Pre smartphones, is getting another shot at life as an open source operating system.
The New York Times has published a stunning takedown of HP’s board of directors, accusing the board of being “rife with animosities, suspicion, distrust, personal ambitions and jockeying for power that rendered it nearly dysfunctional.”
HP’s TouchPad tablets might not be gone for good, even after the fire sale ends. A company executive believes that the doomed tablet, which was more popular in death than in life, could make a comeback if HP spins off its personal computer business.
With HP’s decision to stop making WebOS phones and tablets, one thing is painfully clear: Being like Apple is tougher than it looks.
Apparently, huge price cuts on HP’s Touchpad didn’t save the tablet from flopping hard. Sources tell All Things Digital that Best Buy has sold just 25,000 units — less than 10 percent of its inventory. Analyst Rich Doherty of the Envisioneering Group says sales are also poor at Walmart, Microcenter and Fry’s.
Did Tuesday’s $50 price cut on the HP TouchPad strike you as ho-hum? Perhaps this weekend’s $100 price cut will do the trick.
Ben Bajarin is the Director of Consumer Technology Analysis and Research at Creative Strategies, Inc, a technology industry analysis and market intelligence firm located in Silicon Valley.
If you’ve got a few minutes to spare, HP would like to explain how its TouchPad distinguishes itself from other tablets.
If you’re not a fan of the oversized smartphone craze, seek solace in HP’s Veer 4G, a diminutive smartphone that’s coming to AT&T for $99 on May 15.
During HP’s recent announcement of its TouchPad tablet, it was revealed that the WebOS software running on the company’s line of tablets and smartphones would also find its way into other HP products—most notably, computers and printers.
