Decision on webOS sale to come as early as this week [rumor] 129
Mon, 10 Oct 2011 6:46 pm EDT 
Earlier today we lamented the silence surrounding webOS. It’s rough trying to cover the news on a platform where there’s little news. That might change soon, according to a report by AppleInsider. Citing people familiar with HP’s plans, AppleImsider claims that HP has finished the initial bidding process for webOS and will be holding an all-hands meeting tomorrow “that may reveal [the] future plans for selling or spinning off” the webOS Global Business Unit.
Unless they were given several billion dollars in seed money (several billion dollars with which HP wouldn’t necessarily want to part), we can’t see a spin-off happening. So a sale, then? That seems more likely, and according to our own sources around a dozen companies initially expressed interest, with at least one committing to launch webOS devices in 2012 (sounds like HP’s looking for those who will be able to “do right” by webOS).
There’s no word on the results of the bidding. HP might be done taking bids, but they’re keeping under wraps who – if anyone – has agreed to purchase the remnants of Palm. So stayed tuned (we know you’re tired of hearing that one, but it’s all we can offer at this point), hopefully it won’t be too much longer. We’re starting to get ulcers here.
Source: AppleInsider
129 Comments
Nothing would make me happier, but honestly I'll believe it when I see it.
I am calling it, Intellectual Ventures is the next home for webOS. :(
WHAT?!
Patent Trolls
My Pre Plus kicked the bucket... Now I'm enjoying a Nexus S... decent phone but would gladly resume my WebOS fanaticism if a new owner can show they are deserving...
I'm in the same boat as you. Android is ok, but it's just not the same experience.
Any odds makers out there? This should be very interesting.
I would love to get a webOS device with real modern specs, my veer just doesn't cut it, but honestly at this point I'm almost all out of hope. The industry isn't slowing down and at this point I'm not sure any company would even be able to catch up or would even want to on a OS that has been written off as dead.
They said the same thing when Nokia and RIM dominated mobile. Then the iPhone came along.
Well...there's the little matter of the iPhone having been new, successful and fairly revolutionary (in terms of browser, media player, onscreen keyboard, and UI fluidity), while WebOS is now well-known, had its best features copied and has never been successful.
The iPhone wasn't nearly as revolutionary as the Treo which gave javascript, touchscreens, music, SD storage, etc. and it didn't beat RIM because of the business and government contracts.
WebOS hasn't been seen on quality hardware yet, so we have give it an incomplete in judging it's success.
You could put the best OS on an old 486 processor and it clearly wouldn't sell.
I very clearly outlined the specific areas where the iPhone was revolutionary, and you didn't take issue with any of them except to say that somehow the Treo was more revolutionary in terms of music or touchscreen functionality - which is a joke, I'm assuming?
As for the hardware argument...if you're talking design....yes. But processor hardware? No way. the TI OMAP the original Pre had was the baddest processor on the market at the time. That's why the iPhone 3GS had it too.
The chip inside the Pre 2 was speedy for the fall of 2010 when it was supposed to be released. It had the same chip as the Droid X, released just 3 months prior, but it was pushing a display with way less resolution.
The chip inside the Pre 3 is still pretty formidable even at this late date. Not that that should matter given the A5 in the iPhone 4S is clocked at 800mhz, and it runs rings around any WebOS handset in benchmarks.
The iPhone wasn't nearly as revolutionary as the Treo...
Are you kidding me? The thing completely changed the smartphone playing field. Perfection it was not. Revolutionary it most definitely was.
Like jerrydan3 mentioned, webOS had a fair shot on decent hardware more than once and it failed every time. What's with this moving the bar approach to judging webOS?
10+ year Sprint user here who was still rockin' my Pre- until this weekend. I bought a couple of GSM Pre 3's on ebay, switched to H2o Wireless, a prepaid service that uses AT&T's network, and couldn't be happier. The Pre 3 feels great, is speedy, and tides me over until someone makes new webOS hardware. My advice to anyone out there who hasn't made the plunge is to do it. Why be held hostage by what phones your carrier will or won't carry? The water's fine. :)
how much did you wind up paying for the Pre3s?
You were able to port your # to prepaid h20?
Paid $225 apiece shipped for the two Pre 3's. Seller got them to me in three days via Priority Mail from California. Bought two $10 H2o wireless SIM cards from Best Buy. Followed the directions on their website to port my numbers. Took about three hours from the time I entered the info on the website forms to port both numbers this past weekend. You will need your Sprint account number and Sprint PIN#. I'd never used a SIM card before, and never switched carriers before, so I've been hesitant over the years, but had I known it would be this easy, I would have done it years ago.
13 yr Sprint customer moving to TMobile within the next week with a Pre 3 and looking forward to a great smartphone and may I add my first smartphone. So cool for an old codger.
Thanks for the Sprint info on changing carriers.
Did you sign up with the $60/mo plan?
yeah, I chose the $60/month. 250 Mb restriction on the $50/month plan was just too light. I average 200-400 Mb/month and use WiFi when possible (home, work).
i may have to do this!!!
If anyone is interested in an AZERTY Pre3 I can inform you that the Palm Eurostore have them back in store at the £169/€199 price +shipping
The direct link to the UK Pre3 page is http://eurostore.palm.com/epages/Store.sf/secxsHAXJc8wB2/?ObjectPath=/Sh...
I have an azerty pre3 and I love it! I have had blackberry's, an iPhone 3g, and even the little veer 4g. I loved the veer, but I felt it was missing a few things. If they would have released the pre3 before the veer I think they would not have had to go down this path they see themselves on. Actually I think the pre3 is my favorite of all my phones.
your blood is richer than mine. I looked today for a cdma pre3 since my pre+ is on is last leg, and they were in the high $600 on ebay. To get two even with the cheaper sim model is hearty for a phone. Pre2 with all the goodies is looking better to me @ $150 to hold me over until palm is resurrected from the depths of HP.
The Pre3 probably would have sold for $500-600 unsubsidized/off-contract, so maybe it's not that unreasonable. That'd be perfect on a cheap reseller. (I'd rather pay a lot for a phone than overpaying for a carrier personally.)
I wish I had gotten a firesale VzPre2 when they were available, i'm totally kicking myself now! Eh..
I got VZW PRE 2 last month for $4.99. I clicked on Update, got v2.0 and then all sounds stopped working on my phone. Then, my Yahoo mail stopped working. After 3 1/2 Hrs on phone with VZW, I got email working, but it wouldn't sync with Yahoo mail from my PC. What good is that? Had to dump everything from phone & sound came back, but only a "whisper" of sound & had to re-search & re-download all of my apps!. I read many reviews on the Pre 2 & most talked about the sound problem. I took a chance anyway. After a frustrated week of no sound & no email, I returned it. Now they're $150?? I'm so frustrated! Heck, I still have my Treo in my drawer. I'll never give it up, what a workhorse! I am still using my Pre Plus which, although it now has a beta version of Flash Player, still isn't the phone of my dreams. Is it too much to ask for a Flash version that can actually allow me to surf the whole internet & not just some sites? So far, I can watch any videos on cbs.com.
yes, please, more info, this looks like an incredible opportunity. the only thing i'm curious about is if i loose my phone number.
I've pretty much given up. The sale will likely be a patent buy and we'll have to find another horse to ride when our current devices give up. Sad.
sigh - webos and patents are two distinct products.
If the patents are used in webOS, why would anyone use webOS without also owning the patents?
I'm sure there are some patents that webOS doesn't require (hardware?) that HP could sell distinctly from it, but not all of them are.
Amazon please, pretty pretty please. Why skin Android and compete against Google when you can go it on your own with a well polished OS like webOS?!?
answer: apps
@nxd10 That is hardly a fitting answer. After all if a serious contender like Amazon makes it clear that they will make a serious commitment to WebOS the developers will start to produce all the needed apps.
Against Android is that Apple is sure to sue and that Microsoft and other holders of patents, which Android uses without paying, will demand cross licensing and license fees for each device produced. WebOS have yet to see such legal troubles.
"After all if a serious contender like Amazon makes it clear that they will make a serious commitment to WebOS the developers will start to produce all the needed apps."
Funny....I heard the same around here when "serious player" HP - THE WORLD'S LARGEST TECHNOLOGY COMPANY!!!!! - bought Palm.
How'd that work out?
Also, people should read up on the patents that Microsoft is demanding licensing payments for. They include Exchange ActiveSync, which EVERY smartphone from iPhone to WebOS uses and pays Microsoft for. There are no "legal troubles" because Palm - then HP - hammered out a licensing agreement some time ago.
Read for yourself: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ActiveSync
I read this http://www.groklaw.net/pdf2/MSvB&Nanswer.pdf nothing in there about ActiveSync. The Motorola suite has only one patent included that might be related to ActiveSync http://www.scribd.com/doc/38550703/Micrsoft-Motorola-Patent-Suit Licensing ActiveSync doesn't have to include any other patents or APIs or protocols - http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2008/dec08/12-18easlicencingpr....
If anyone thinks these patents aren't applicable to WebOS and whatever company picks them up will be free from royalty payments once they sell enough, they're mad.
"After all if a serious contender like Amazon makes it clear that they will make a serious commitment to WebOS the developers will start to produce all the needed apps."
The catalyst that will rip open the floodgates seems to always be hovering over the horizon. It changes name every few months, but it remains out of reach.
Wouldn't it be the perfect time now to present the 500kCEOs video contest entries? It may be the last chance to show them our love for webOS and tell them to treat it respectfully when it comes to a decision.
Which company committed to new devices in 2012? I don't remember reading about that... Also, a dozen suitors? Does anyone have the reference for this?
I'm excited, and hopeful! +1 for a purchase by Amazon!!!
Amazon makes no sense and would not be good for us.
Likely candidates are IMHO:
HTC, Dell, Sony, Lenovo, Samsung (until they said no). Possibly Acer, Asus.
Amazon makes more sense than more than half the companies you just mentioned. After all a tablet is worth nothing without content and Amazon is sitting on a massive amount of attractive content that could be made exclusive for webOS. As far as I know only HTC and Sony would be able to deliver exclusive content to the platform.
With exclusive content you can even get away with slightly outdated hardware, just look at Apple ;-)
I second that with Amazon! They have an awesome management team and can really do well with their own OS! .... WebOS, just add AMAZON, and you have a phone+media contender folks!
No you don't.
Amazon is not likely to get into the smartphone business (sux for us).
They just announced a range of devices based on an Android fork and have their own (Android compatible) app market running.
Amazon already have what they need. And aquiring webos now - not only wouldn't get them anything they need - it would also send the wrong message. People might hold back from buying Kindles now if a new line of webos based tablets is expected.
The mess with Mojo and Enyo this year was bad enough for developers. What would Kindle devs think when they have to consider 2 different platforms for Amazon?
This is what I've been wondering all along. Why would a company (other than HP) spend so much time and money adopting a platform and getting some many ducks in a row only to dump it all before the release of their newest product?
I'm no analyst, and I haven't stayed in a Holiday Inn lately, but I see Amazon continuing with their platform rather than swapping it for webOS.
And spin off and leave with Bradley? Hummm... why not? Can be a good solution, too...
Best Regards... B)
I would be happy if webOS left with Bradley and the PSG.
Agreed. Quite frankly, I'd be surprised if they haven't looked at doing what Palm did with the Treo Pro and have HTC build the phones and tablets for them. Just give them the conceptual drawings and specs and let HTC pump out the hardware.
May be other similar solutions. Overall, this or a sale to Amazon seem like the best possibilities.
this is either very good or very bad. If amazon or facebook or HTC or samsung buys entire webos and patents then this is cool and makes sense!
If on the other hand a patent troll simply buys the palm patents then we're screwed. I'm a little nervous thinking "appleinsider" was the site breaking this news. If apple buys out the palm stake, then put a fork in it. Every time we're heard news re: the palm saga it's been for teh worst. I hope I'm wrong with this second paragraph.
I've moved on to android for now for my phone needs. I've still got the touchpad for webos.
i feel kinda the same way about appleinsider having this story...seems kinda strange, that tipster or someone with dealings to send the story there...hmmm
Too expensive for patent trolls. Highly unlikely.
They sold the TP for 99 who knows what else HP will do to cut their losses.
I like the idea of a spinoff company called "webOS" or even "compaq" that makes PC's, laptops and yes smartphones once a again.
I always thought that's what would have happened:
* HP splits into two, "HP Business" and "HP Computers"
* "HP Business" owns webOS
* "HP Computers" decides to license webOS and make smart phones.
Hopefully this'll end up being something even better, like, maybe.... Apple! They're not geting buying OSs and turning them into awesome (like NeXTSTEP into OSX/iOS)... :D
* "HP Business" keeps babbling incoherently about webOS as a platform for enterprise software development, an enterprise integration platform, and the future of interconnected devices and services, and about maximizing shareholders value
* "HP Computers" scratches their head for few months, doing their best to make any sense from that blabber, and then shrugs, and starts doing what they know best - putting out the hardware running Microsoft OS, in this case shiny new tablets running Win 8.
Please, please, someone take webOS from HP's hands. Let them buy it for patents, or whatever, just finish the freaking story already.
Windows8 might have been the fork in webOS.
webOS was the fork in webOS.
This is like a replay of the Amiga saga.
Commodore didn't have the money to promote Amiga -- but here comes a new savior! Who fails to sell many machines and discontinues the Amiga to sell it to...
Someone else! Who restarts development and production for a few weeks or months before failing and...
Selling to someone else!
Eventually, so few people care anymore that it dies with a little whimper. :(
true...
Yes - but still too early to tell whether webos will suffer the same fate.
Possible - but there is no reason it has to go the same way.
But webos needs a capable owner who actually and seriously wants to be in the consumer market.
I am so tired of HP and their **** ...I just cant trust they would do anything right....especially when it come to selling Web OS. I will just wait out & buy the Vzn Pre3 knowing it will probably be my last Web OS device. I ve already got Pre- (overclocked) and a TouchPad (also, overclocked)... I just can't trust HP to do right...OJUICE R.I.P. Web OS
There is no Verizon Pre3. Or I'd have one. THAT's the problem.
?? There is one.
I have it.
It's not a problem.
(If you mean there is no RELEASED one, then yes, the same is true of the ATT one. Or the other 9.7" touchpads (one of which i have) etc..)
There is a Verizon Pre3. You just apparently don't want to buy one of the limited number available on ebay for the high going rate.
amazon might make sense. THe kindle app was developed for webOS so the touchpad or something similar is good to go for the next version of the kindle.
Though my concern is why would amazon care about making smartphones unless they want to branch out. THe other good thing about amazon is they have tons of content = movies, (amazon prime) and a music store. If they can rival something like Itunes...
They could buy it just to get the os for the kindle. Who says they want to make smartphones? We just want to buy them.
they could use it for the kindle or some similiar device that delivers more content and license it as well to smartphone makers to make phones, improve on the touch to share(expand on whispersync..movies, books, music) could possibly build a android emulator to run the apps they have in the amazon app store...who knows...im just dreaming
Nope - Amazon doesn't make sense.
It was just an unsubstantiated rumor that somebody made up.
Rumors, got to love them, lol. Possible new webOS devices in 2012? If that's the case then my shiny new Pre 3 should carry me over until then.
I hope they make some decision to sell webOS to someone soon.
"Citing people familiar with HP’s plans..." ?
HP has "plans" ? That's news in its own right...
No. Good plans would be new. Plans they've had plenty of. Bad ones that usually change daily/weekly, but plans.
appleinsider got this rumor!? If Apple is involved, it may just be the nail on the coffin for webOS. Apple would only purchase Palm for its IP portfolio. Lets hope this is not the case.
wow - you are one sharp dude. To come to that because this is posted on Apple Insider - I mean WOW. Are you on the Board at HP or something.
If they can integrate Cards and Synergy into the webOS, along with make a model of the iPhone with a sliding keyboard, that'll be enough for me. Because, frankly, that's really what turned me to webOS versus the iOS...
Keep PSG in house and just sell or kill WebOS - all of it. It's the only right move for HP IMO. They obviously have no clue what the mobile market is or how to play in it, so just give WebOS away already. As the #1 pc vendor on the planet, why would any sane person look to dump this business... oh wait, we are talking HP here, so they may just do it.
Otherwise, this article is a great sign of how slow things are around PreCentral. This isn't news at all.
Running PC business without mobile devices like pads or smartphones is a dead money, Todd Bradley wouldn't want it. He may quit HP and go run AMD. How about facebook buying webOS ?
The fundamental problem is that if they don't know how to compete and engage with the mobile market then what kind of future will they have. Any company that wants to compete in an enterprise market is going to have to have an ecosystem that includes mobile product offerings. If HP isn't going to act directly then they're going to have to rely on Google or Microsoft which means there's not going to be any differentiation between them others regarding mobile strategy.
I still say that HP is failing to engage enterprises with BYO strategies.
Pretty much nailed it there. Hurd knew that they needed a mobile strategy. The PC isn't dying, but it is going to be a smaller player long term, while tablets, phones, netbooks, and laptops continue to take on more and more of the computing realm.
If HP were smart, they would simply hire a real mobile device maker to make their phones and tablets from HP's own concepts. Get someone like HTC, like Palm once did, to turn designs into reality much quicker than HP's webOS hardware team seemed capable of. If they do sell it off, HP will struggle to be relevant in another 5 years or so.
I have two truly outstanding HP tablet touchscreen tablet computers (full laptops, not tablets). If they could take that design expertise and integrate it with webos and the good start they had on software - let htc make the hardware - they'd have an awesome business product line. Blackberry is going down - IT people wants the security and integration.
But instead of making real products, HP wants to sell services. Wasn't there a time when companies wanted to make the things that customers were clamoring to buy?
"Otherwise, this article is a great sign of how slow things are around PreCentral. This isn't news at all."
news thats reported on t.v. = facts(live stituations, and stories provided by sources about what are suppose to be actual things that have happened or going to happen) and theres those pieces that are "speculated"...
they call it speculation we call it rumors...meh...
news = information thats presented to you in different formats...you can either believe that information or not
Being #1 isn't worth much if the profits are low and expected to go lower. The PC market is mature and mostly low margin.
That's why they bought Palm. HP needed something to expand into the growing mobile business under last years Be-Like-Apple plan (high margin consumer products).
Under this years Be-Like-IBM plan they'll rather get out of the whole consumer business.
The fault with this is - IBM is already like IBM and has been for many years. And there's Oracle. So they dump the consumer biz to concentrate in the enterprise - but a little late to the party (again).
And after the botched strategy change enterprise is reluctant to deal with HP because they look incompetent and nobody knows whether they can support their stuff in a few years.
Dell is having a party no doubt.
I just find it sad that an Apple rumor site has the latest webOS rumors.
Damn.
Guys I just got the official word from an insider. Palm is going to buy webOS.
?? u mean a palm spinoff....its possible i guess
Not really.
But this rumor is probably based on as much real information as the one that Amazon might buy webos - zil.
ha ha
Well, if Amazon is getting into the tablet business for consumption, why ignore the smart phone market. Let's face it, and Apple nailed it, it is about the ecosystem. Can't have an ecosystem without a myriad of consumption devices.
Because Amazon is not a manufacturer or a PC business.
They are a virtual department store.
They can sell Kindle tablets at close to cost because they'll make money from the products they sell via the Kindle (and much more than you can make from app sales).
Totally different business model.
To Amazon the Kindle isn't the product - it's the shopfront (plus media delivery device).
we know rumors of a veer and tp update ready to go not not released....(see posted rumors)
i was thinking about it...what better release than to update w/ the boot logo of new owner-partner whether amazon, samsung or spinoff palm or compaq.
Well look at it this way. As far as delivering a great experience Apple is hands down the best ATM. That being said IOS for all its function is a bit cludgy and in desperate need of a refresh with Android and WinPhone7 coming on now.
This would not be out of step for them When OS7 was out Apple knew it needed a better OS to lead it to the future. In comes Steve Jobs back to his old company and they buy his company Next and out of this we get OSX. Now as much as I hate Ruby, he is a true believer in WebOS. I still think he has some close relationships with people in Apple. Think of a new IOS with WebOS instead. Apple has the talent to truly make it shine and fix all the issues that have always plagued it. See next year Iphone5 with WebOS look and feel on a 4+in display.
I can dream can't I?
So do you mean iPhone5 could run on a child of iOS and webOS ? hmmm,,,
Actually, it would be a hybrid of the two. Take what works best with IOS and the best of WebOS. IOS has the optimized code and smoothness. WebOS has the better notifications and multitasking function. Now if they can clean up the codes between them.
Don't think they haven't been trying to do this. Otherwise all the defections that happened with HP wouldn't have been. The good ones got snapped up by Apple and Google. We are seeing the fruition of it in ICS for Google and IOS5 for Apple. Are they WebOS...no they are parts of what WebOS is.
We await later in the week if the rumor is true.
Not going to happen.
I also think that facebook soon will need a sophisticated mobile OS. facebook already has a huge ecosystem with 800+ millions users and growing. And they have a Google like revenue structure through advertisements.
No way. They can try. They'd die.
My Pre- is being retired this weekend for an iPhone. I really hope someone makes an honest effort with webOS. I love my touchpad so that will help the sting of not having a webOS phone.
I feel pretty confident that Tupac Shakur is going to buy webOS.
You heard it here first. Just remember that!
Why would an Apple blog hear about this first? I have no idea what's going to happen but timing is right. The only thing definite is that HP draggin its feet= lower value for webOS. Hp would rather sell webOS to the wrong buyer who pays a high price than the right buyer for a lower price. I think Amazon is the only single company that can buy webOS in its entirety. Facebook won't buy webOS. If they were scared because of Steve Jobs yelling at them over a touchpad app beating the ipad app to market, they're certainly not going to cross apple and google. Only other option is selling webOS phones to 1 buyer like HTC, tablet to amazon, keep webOS for the HP printers. Unwieldy but more affordable that way.
Hate to break it to ya but printers were never gonna happen. Maybe under Hurd, not though with this group.
But what the hey. I got bridge to sell ya CHEAP!:P
I just noticed Verizon jacked up the price of the Pre2 from $50 to $150 in my area...wonder what the game is...
Most likely scenario is that HP agrees to license webOS to another company, Amazon maybe. This allows HP to continue to work on the software, where they have said they want to be and allow others to develop the lower margin hardware business. HP would be better off retaining the patents and leveraging their value through licensing with multiple companies rather than selling to one company.
Amazon may want to use webOS for their new tablets but I cannot see them wanting to invest the resources in developing and advancing webOS, something necessary to keep their tablets relevant to a rapidly changing market.
Amazon will not use webos - or anything else besides their Android fork for the foreseeable future.
There will be no licencee.
Either an established manufacturer like HTC, Dell or Sony buys webos - or it will die.
Who cares if a cut-down version is used to select paper tray on a printer.
I always read in comments about Amazon, Samsung, HTC etc interested in WebOS.
But what if a no-name company from, let's say, China steps in? Those companies might be backed by the government, have pockets/suitcases full of cash and might not be interested in going to the western market at first. Many operators (such as Lenovo) tried their own OS and even build hardware for it (LePhone by Lenovo, based on Android though).
Maybe such a company thinks it can develop faster by simply buying an existing platform. At least that's what the Chinese car makers think when they buy all the bankrupt western companies.
What do you think?
Yup - besides HTC, Dell or Sony I also think that a wildcard player might emerge. Some growing manufacturer that we never heard of from Brazil, China or India. Already manufacturing for others and seeking to go upmarket with their own products. It's a vague possibility.
Why do I keep falling for these rumors??? I want really good hardware but I also want webOS on it. However. Droid 3 and iPhone 4S are looking Reeeee-aaallly good right now. at least the hardware is... PLease get me some pre3 love HP! or someone!!! I'm getting tired of the whole game.
You can get your Pre3 via ebay.
It's a great device.
I got a GSM Pre3 on eBay for $259 -changed the mail message to read "sent from my Palm Pre 3" :-) Laughed when the hotspot app wanted me to buy a plan from AT&T, and installed Preware and then FreeTether instead. Except for the wimpy battery, it's a great phone. Let's hope a WebOS buyer has some real vision of what can be done.
I hear webOS is going to Novell to join their fearsome stable of acquisitions. They will port webOS to desktop PCs and bundle WordPerfect, Quattro Pro, and dBASE in order to make one last run at Microsoft.
Can you imagine if Apple buys it????
I'll throw everything I have in the rubbish.
HI all,
This happened b/c I just got an Android phone (Epic), will return it if this is true!
Take care,
Jay
Sold mine already. Just can't live without decent notifications. So I sold my Galaxy to one of my Colleagues and bought a shiny new Pre3 (slightly overpriced, compared to Firesale prices) on ebay.
It still has its weaknesses, but compared to Android it's still the better choice over all, since it doesn't have that "fancy" look that remebers me of my Childrens Toys, whenever I look at it.
HP have never said they were looking to sell or spin off webOS. They said that they were looking into selling, spinning or keeping the Personnel Systems Group. That decision is expected by the end of the month.
Therefore I would take this news about webOS with a pinch of salt.
Very strange. My B-Day was the 10th as well. Well best wishes to you guys. Family just raised present money for me to get a new phone; And I have to decide..do I stay Pre or do I jump ship ...sigh...
Something is definately up, Palm Pre 2 is back on VZ Wireless at $149.99 its been $49.99 for a long time. Obviously HP wants to make as much $ as they can cause whomeever their selling/renting too their profits are going up!
I got a touchpad which is great and a Pre3 which is meh, Pre3 is now stuck in my drawer and I will carry on using my galaxy s which is superb, will be Sad to see the touchpad and webOS die. Nobody will buy it to use, they may buy it to bury it and take patents.
but hey if HP didn't act like they had the late Jim Henson's hand up their arse I would not be typing on my shiney new TP :-P
so is that a verizon Pre3? Interested in selling it?
What time is the all-hands meeting scheduled for today?
Yet another rumor. Feels like blowing up a baloon, then letting the air out and watching the baloon fly all over the place with no clear direction.
Not getting excited unless I see webOS (or near clone) on a killer phone in the Sprint store.
Here a bit of random speculation from me:
Is it just random chance that today, Rod Whitby uploads this:
http://www.webos-internals.org/wiki/WebOS_Survival_Kit
to the Webos-internals wiki?
Or does he (via contacts at the WebOS business unit) know something that we don't (yet)?
In their final brilliant move to destroy Palm, HP will probably sell webOS to Access so it can be re-united with Garnet (PalmOS) and Cobalt (BeOS) and never see the light of day again.
GOOGLE, PLEASE BUY WEBOS!!!!!! Android is awesome and WebOS is awesome too. if google were to incorporate synergy, gestures & cards, and true multitasking of WebOS (...and leave the koname code for easy root access) that would be one very very very powerful platform!
PLEASE GOOGLE!!!
dailytech says the announcement's coming today.
Ten minutes ago eweek said
"Hewlett-Packard plans on revealing its future webOS strategy in an all-hands employee meeting Oct. 12, according to Apple Insider."
So, the deal's done. It's just a matter of how soon the news is leaked..
(later)
The Wall Street Journal's now reporting "Recent analyses by Hewlett-Packard Co. and its top advisers indicate that the costs of spinning off H-P's personal-computer business might outweigh the benefits, according to people familiar with the matter."
I got totaally sucked in by eweek's article. there hasn't been any announcement all day
I really hope, if Amazon buys webos, that it will never be put on an e-ink screen. The wonderful fluidity would be lost in the process. Please, please, make this good.
HP Reconsiders PC SPINOFF! Source: WSJ online. Will make final decision by end of month (October).
Incredible!!!!
HP (Meg Whitman) claims that according to their analyses the cost of the spinoff might outweigh the benefits.
No mention of webOS or mobile devices in the article.
I've got to believe that HP would not sell WebOS to anyone that could actually do something good with it that would impact HP, but I don't know what would compete with HP, or even what HP thinks would compete with HP. Interesting, though.
Go Garmin! You need a new OS for all your dated, slow and hard to use 1990's era OS's! Go Go GO!
Safe to assume nothing is happening at this point. Hurry HP, prove me wrong before the week ends!
I've just bought a refurbished Palm Pre for $110 because I like it better than my Samsung Transform which was a Android phone. I wanted a phone with the voice command and Google Search! I didn't like the Transform's performance because it was sluggish and much slower than my Palm Pres! I wound up selling it so now I have two Palm Pres in perfect condition (my older Palm Pre cost me $60)! I've gone Palm Pre crazy now that HP has decided to drop WebOS devices!