Apotheker: HP "takes too long to get to market" with innovations 68
Fri, 18 Feb 2011 2:02 pm EST
We’re not saying, we’re just saying, HP CEO Leo Apotheker might be on to something here. Speaking with the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Apotheker was asked about HP’s strengths and weaknesses. The strengths were pretty typical for HP: they’re a top player in every market in which they compete, they have a great heritage, an innovation-driven culture, and of course, great customers. Apotheker was surprisingly frank about HP’s weaknesses:
"We need to get way more business done in markets other than the US. We need to speak to our customers as one HP. We need to fire up our innovation engine and get our products to market faster. It's not that we aren't innovative; it's that it takes too long to get to market. We have some weaknesses in our software portfolio. And I think we need to be far more outspoken about what H-P is all about. We didn't do that for many years."
Taking too long? Yeah, you’re preaching to the choir here. We’re not sure exactly where Apotheker and HP got their signals crossed with that whole “within weeks” thing, unless he was talking about the future of HP product announcements once the company is running the way he wants. Either way, we’re sure there was some smacking of heads when he said that, but we’re looking forward to HP innovations getting to market faster in the future.
Source: Wall Street Journal; Via: Engadget; Thanks to all who sent this in!
68 Comments
The first step in overcoming something is to admit you have a problem in the first place. The hardest part is done. Let's do something about this, now.
Yea like get a Sprint Pre3 to market ASAP, I believe that should be priority over the Veer!
i doubt Sprint will carry it.
I've already made up my mind to leave Sprint as soon as Verizon announces the Pre 3.
This abuse from Sprint has pretty much ran it's course for me (No Pre-Plus, No Pre 2). I've reached the end of the road with them. Time to say bye-bye to a 10 years relationship all because of a phone they just stupidly won't carry trying to force everyone to use Evo (Android).
Memo to Sprint management - not everyone is hanging on Android's nuts Sprint!!!
That's funny because I said this will be my last contract with verizon after 9 years. Pre 2 with cripled GPS and throttled data? Not to mention navigaton ($10) per month and overpriced plans. I'm sure sprint wll get P3. I'm done with VERIZON.
I bought the Pre 2 and the GPS is not crippled. It works like a charm. In fact, I'm very impressed with the Pre 2. I can only imagine what he Pre 3 will be like but I can't wait 6 months for it to come out. I need an upgrade and an upgade indeed I did get.
Let me sayd this again...
the aGPS is not crippled it works GREAT on the Pre 2
Why would you want to move to Verizon, I am on Verizon right now and will be leaving them when my contract is up because the break the Pre WebOS phones so that you have to pay Verizon for such things as GPS that everything has these days.
Not only that but Verizon does not care about HP and the Pre series of phones.
Out of interest, do they also criple iPhone's GPS?
and there are even less people hanging on webos's nuts, and sprint like every carrier follws re money.
Innovations to market faster, yes.
But geez, non-ovations like the Pre2 took too long too.
While the tablet may be innovative (in a 14th brand into market sense) the Pre3 isn't innovative either, and that's going to take forever.
HP just has a "too big for it's own good, sleeper-sofa moving difficult" stlye that wont really let them be cutting edge. Maybe in presentations, but not in practice.
HP didn't create the Pre2, Palm did.
Delay in releasing was due to acquisition.
The Pre2 was ready in September for October release. The problem, all the carriers were drowning in rotting inventory.
Likewise, the Pre2 was just a hardware upgrade, nothing evolutionary. Ditto the Pre3 when compared to the 2, and it's still not even ready for a release date disclosure.
I think he's good for HP. If he can back up his words, webOS may make something of itself after all.
Agree. HP is good for Palm/webOS, but it takes the balls to admit when something is broken to really fix it. I have a feeling that he will be willing to knock some heads to make it right. God willing, webOS will survive the current challenges & emerge as a stronger, more nimble platform in the future. It's too "right" to fail.
Oh, & HP, if you're listening, I'd love a free Pre2 or a paid Pre3 on Sprint.
lostsole1970@gmail.com :)
From Leo the Liar to Leo the Light...
Not so bright...
Announcing an innovation and not release it gives you competition headsup to screw up! Google is doing it with the touch to share now!! Leo needs to get this depts to follow his words and NOT blab about stuff that isnt ready yet. Id rather be ignorant to it and found out later when it is actually ready and not stolen than told now and teased with not comming out till forever.
And worse still, Nexus S does it with NFC, which means they can also use it for credit card payments. (Assuming) HP uses its own technology, then this puts HP at a double disadvatage. Later to market with the same functionality, but using proprietory technology that has less functionality than NFC.
I am not really sure how far HP can delays things now and still maintain its OS advatntage.
The whole NFC thing sounds half baked to me. You have to take out your phone, launch the app, punch in a code and then hold your phone right next to a scanner. I get that it is more secure than a credit card (no skimming, etc...) but I don't see it as being easier than taking out your wallet & swiping a card. The old way has less steps. Until you can make it easy (like the RFID dream of pushing your grocery cart through the checkout line without taking your wallet out) then NFC is bound to fail IMO. Or at least take so long to catch on that it is obsolete before it is fully adopted.
i think.. i might just stick around after all... admitting to having a problem is a very big step, now tell me the pr3 coming out in spring and ill be happy! =D
Just have to say I like what you did with the Pre 3 (pr3) there. :-)
I think all HP webOS products will be released world wide at same time and not just Sprint like Palm had it before. HP has make sure everything is ready to go for world wide domination. Plus I think they got lines of communications crossed between him and HP product release, I think he honestly thought that after Feb 9th there be like 2-3 week gap to get the products out, I think he should sit down with Jon and they both have to get on the same page. Next move is critical to HP so they dont look like fools again.
Also people forget that "Within weeks" could mean 30 weeks or 100 or 2 they just assume it's the 2 and get mad when it isn't. I'm not saying it's right just that it's a tactic to keep people interested. The only problem is that HP has used that line too many times recently. If it was just once or twice no one would notice.
I would argue that "within weeks" means in fewer than eight-nine. Once you get to more than eight-nine weeks, you are now in multiple months, and so you have to say "within months."
Obviously, you are *technically* correct, but one should justifiably feel lied to when something that is likely more than half a year away is called "weeks" away.
THE MAN IS A GENIUS!!!
Who is he aiming to reach with this statement? The consumers know. The media knows. The employees know, and I'm sure they've heard from the consumers and the media.
He is new to a very large company which means there are people in the company that aren't obeying him. By putting them on the spot light like this he is forcing them to comply. He seems like he knows what he is doing. We might start seeing a few people leave HP as well.
There are people in countries that don't sell the Pre, Pre Plus, Pre 2 and Pixi that would like to get one, like myself. The phones are not available and the app catalog is not available. I think that is who this is aimed at. This gives me hope that we may see products released world-wide, which is what I think needs to happen to see bigger adoption of webOS.
yup, latest Gingerbread udate allows NFC equipped android devices to.. Get this: "Touch to share". Mear weeks after HP showboats this "amazing new feature" and a faster moving competetor has already implemented it. *sigh* true words Mr. A., true words.
A prime example that HP takes too long: Engadget is reporting that Android Gingerbread makes possible tappable sharing. And you can already multitask with cards similar to webos. Check out the Android app called Itching Thumb. There is even gesture capability. If my Sprint Pre dies I am for sure going to get an Evo and this app. Check out: www.youtube.com/watch?v=8s92BLUj6r0
itching thumb is not webos... its crapware.. I wish it was like webos but its not... now if google actually intergrated the webos feel to their OS, id prob jump ship
but i doubt they will copy it.. atleast anytime soon
Wow, thanks for turning me on to Itching Thumb! If Sprint Pre dies, I'm doing the same thing.
Itching Thumb need a "ROOTED" device. So how much people out there that buy Android phone know what and how about rooting their device??
I have that app installed on my device, and never can run. Because I never think to root my phone, no reason for that more over it is just a small BETA app.
If you want to buy EVO and depend on this BETA app to make you happy, then good luck for you.
"We need to get way more business done in markets other than the US."
Most important words, a 300 million is not enough when competing in todays mobile world.
Personally, I believe at least part of the delay is that webOS 3.0 is not ready and the new app framework, Enyo, was just released in Alpha. The software is not ready.
I see it as publicly scolding his employees for not telling him the products were months away. He probably realistically expected that they were weeks away after being given one to play with. "It's not that we aren't innovative, it's that it takes too long for SOMEBODY TO TELL ME RELEASE CYCLES BEFORE I GO MAKE A FOOL OUT OF MYSELF."
Maybe he will get rid of some of his "Yes" men.
Innovations? Don't take me wrong, I love the TouchPad (so far), but the iPad is what we could call 'an innovation'. It looks like HP Palm started their 'Pad' project when the iPad was already on the shelfs.
I will most definitely take you wrong.
I will most definitely call you stupid.
I bet he's talking about laptops and printers. :-P
Que the gasp !
Cue
I didn't think that looked right but went with it anyway - I blame it on the large number of Hispanics where I live - lol.
Also people forget that "Within weeks" could mean 30 weeks or 100 or 2 they just assume it's the 2 and get mad when it isn't. I'm not saying it's right just that it's a tactic to keep people interested. The only problem is that HP has used that line too many times recently. If it was just once or twice no one would notice.
Don't listen to this guy, he gets your hopes up then laughs in your face when HP fails to deliver.
@jaws...I'm confused, I was reading about NFC technology in the Nexus S and that release was way earlier than HP's announcement. Not to mention there have been whispers of iOS getting an NFC chip in one of the new generation iPhones, once again, before HP's developer event. WebOS brings a lot of new stuff to the table, but lets not get ahead of ourselves believing WebOS creates every new idea and the big boys are just eating off of them. Hopefully this Mr. Apotheker will follow due diligence to make sure we don't get anymore vaporware, if you HAVE to let out some news give teasers to blogsites like this one. Anticipation is built off what you DON'T know, not what you do.
It's true that the Nexus S devices had NFC already baked into the hardware, but aside from CC payments (still in development at the time) the hardware wasn't really utilized. It's not that NFC is new, it isn't; Android's implementation of "touch to share", utilizing the NFC hardware to execute it is whats new, and since the HP/WebOS announcement no less.
Leo may be crazy like a fox. When one's CEO publicly embarrasses one, one tends to get one's act together. Maybe he's hoping to shame the product teams into more timely action.
Haha wow, I knew it wouldn't take long for companies to steal the "Tap to Share" idea...http://www.engadget.com/2011/02/18/latest-android-gingerbread-release-brings-nfc-and-bluetooth-toge/
No shit.
Here's what webOS people think about HP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI056nhaduk&feature=feedlik
sad but true... :-(
Maybe HP will pull a Motorola Atrix 4G surprise and release it early thus making them look like heroes! And CTIA IS March 22-24: http://www.ctiawireless.com/
Talked to Sprint last night they are not getting any new phones till they decide to stay with wimax or go to LTE so we won't know till september maybe then sprint will get HP webos phones.
He should end every interview with "Make it so"
Just ordered my Pre 2 from VZW today. Should have it Tues.
He can talk the talk, but can he walk the walk? Thats really the question. He all ready has negative points because of what he said earlier. Lets hope things improve.
He finally put the finger on the sore to fix it, eh ?
Yes to global releases! All the whining about Sprint & VZW is a non-starter in the rest of the world, so US only launches are a waste of the company's time and effort. For most of the history of mobile phones North america got the stale hardware that had been well profited on in the GSM world. Yes these were Nokia dumbphones, and early smart ones, but nonetheless they were the lustworthy devices of their day.
Yes to weeks not months launches. Sure apple had to do a 6 month launch for the 1gen iphone because of FCC leaks, and the Pre 1gen was justified as a 6mo launch because they could hear the thudding of dirt on the coffin's lid. I can almost understand this 4mo release window as they were worried about all the heat they knew would be generated in this product cycle and they would get none so they did their own event. A pure PR event, and as they lay in bed in the dark with noone to hear their thoughts they calculated the "any PR is good PR" equation, it worked out. We in this small community, and maybe Josh Topolsky, will be unhappy, but I think the wider world is unaware of WebOS. HP is proably playing the long game planning (but maybe looking through rose coloured glasses) a few cycles ahead to where there the Ruby "3-4 players world" exists.
I wish them luck! The above link foritching thumb sealed it for me. Seeing it run on an HTCDesireHDEVO has me sporting wood! My Pre barely lasted 8mos. I can buy a Pre2 for about the same as a DHD. The Pre2 will have no warrantee because it's grey market, the DHD is fully supported including languages different than this one. The guy who bemoans rooting, but doesn't notice that all Pre users here probably entered a konami code before they called their mom, is missing the joy that is tinkering with smartphones. I will install 2.x on my Pre- when the community comes up with a solution, but only when I'm bored or playing with my primary massive solid slab of HTC/Sammy goodness.
I go there because it is bigger, with far far more choices. This is the developer's and hence HP's dilema, how to keep interest for long enough to get enough scale to make this a compelling business. The comments that all ecosystems have their drawbacks is well taken. Leaving WebOS for one or two product cycles doesn't mean never coming back, but every loss is felt more deeply here now. When shopping I show the clerks WebOS as I try to reconcile the switch to the competition. They can't read the language of my Pre, but they all say WOW when I compare functionality of their to my device. That alone should make HP, and all folks here take heart, but it will require more than a plutocratic CEO's rant to "make it so".
I hope Sprint gets the Pre 3 but also I hope the somebody find out the way on flash the phone to boost or cricket EV-DO or a least to know how modified everything using cdma workshop!!
thanks
blah, blah, blah let's get moving!
"We need to get way more business done in markets other than the US."
apotheker understands why for example palm got devastated and what do you do here? cry about availability at one useless provider called sprint because you think its the center of webOS world :D ridiculous
We need to get way more business done in markets other than the US. We need to speak to our customers as one HP and we need to treat our customers like we actually appreciate them rather than throwing them to the garbage once we've used them like they're disposable. And when we give our word on something, we're actually going to KEEP our word.
Good luck with that last one HP.
lolol
HP will not release any smartphones - Hurd was the only HP exec to speak the truth when he said HP had no intention to enter the smartphone business. The reason nobody was allowed to actually play with any of the devices "announced" at that event is that they're the only ones made, and no real development has taken place.
They only "announced" those phones so even the last of you people stupid enough to stick with webOS just get up and leave already, so HP isn't forced to support a terrible system any further. If you need proof, look no further than the Palm turds not getting 2.0. They just want the whole embarrassing ordeal to end already. You're just dragging it out like the sucker in an abusive relationship that WANTS to love the hand that beats it.
Bye-Bye, webOS!
Posted from my EVO
Nobody will actually buy the Veer, which is why HP's bluff will work out. By the time the Veer has become a failure for engineering and business textbooks to dissect - this summer - they can lay back and announce that the Pre 3 and iPad clone have been cancelled due to lack of demand. Chapter over.
Sorry for spoiling the end for you :)
"We need to get way more business done in markets other than the US."
I hope they get the Pre 3 or the Touchpad to Mexico.
Telcel doesn't care about Palm / HP. They only want to sell, sell and sell, and no more. If i can purchase an unlocked GSM Pre 3 without having to import, i will be happy.
Believe me Sprint/Verizon/put-your-favorite-carrier-here users, it hurts when your carrier doesn't support the companies which manufacture the phones you are buying from them, but it hurts *a whole lot more* if you have to save a boatload of money to buy and import a pre, only to find yourself stuck, maybe forever, on WebOS 1.4 because your carrier simply does not care to be in that state until the world ends.
I have a pre with a hacked 1.4.5 webOS, and i have to take care of it like it is made of pure glass (if i have a oreo slider or a cracked screen my hard earned money, importing efforts... simply screwed.)
Hope that nobody will reply to me something like "ur stupid if mine brokes my money is also screwed shut up stop complaining" etc etc, i do not need useless replies. I just pointed Apotheker's point hoping that HP will, from their own ways, comercialize these devices in a unlocked flavour, and stop being dependent from Telcel.
I think the pre 3 is coming to sprint and here my theory:
HP says the old devices are not getting the update (Pre owners) update, but their are going to do something special for them. This makes me believe We are the ones getting the Palm Pre 3, 1st.
QUIT with the QWERTY keyboard... make a nimble dash to market, and HP/WebOS would gain my respect. Daddy needs he a 4" WebOs keyboard free phone.
http://www.youtube.com/watchv=jI056nhaduk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
So true