HP to hire former Microsoft Exec, buyout moving forward 34
There's much to be seen about how HP will integrate Palm when the sale goes through, but the Palo Alto, CA based company is making it abundantly clear that it intends on changing things up in the way they do business. The most recent evidence of this comes in the form of hiring 20-year Microsoft veteran Bill Veghte to head the company's $3.6 billion Software and Solutions division, according to Information Week.
Veghte, who most recently was a key player of the Windows 7 launch, oversaw marketing for the operating system in his role of Vice President of the Windows business. The Microsoft veteran left earlier this year to look for an opportunity where he could run an "end-to-end" business, something that wasn't much of a possibility at HP until the company announced that it was picking up Palm and, of course, webOS. How this will affect webOS going forward is unknown, but having the man who was instrumental in launching Redmond's best selling operating system to date on your team can't be a bad thing if you're a company looking to "double-down" on your new in-house operating system.
While we're talking HP + Palm, we'll note that there's a new SEC filing that makes it clear that things are moving forward: the necessary legal step of creating the "Palm, HP and District Acquisition Corporation" has happened and Palm has agreed not to "solicit, initiate or take any action to knowingly facilitate or encourage the submission of an Acquisition Proposal," so it's HP or bust, folks.
Thanks to alan for the tip!
34 Comments
woohoo...
New hardware please. =)
Edit: New phone hardware... I dare not step into the tablet market.
Edit 2: Well, a 20 year Microsoft veteran doesn't sound too bad. Sorry for the off-topic'ness.
microsoft people :( What is end to end business?
The man headed the marketing for Windows 7 and that OS has been a huge hit for Microsoft. If he can replicate a fraction of the success with webOS that'll be huge for Palm and HP.
He didn't "head Windows 7" entirely (just the marketing?). Steven Sinofsky is the one that really made Windows 7 happen. The Windows team was horribly bloated with many layers of management and just couldn't get anything done. Sinofsky came in from the Office team, cleaned house and cleared a path for Windows 7.
I was led to believe that Windows 7 was my idea...was that wrong?
lmao
me too!
Look at it this way, even if it was just marketing, it would still be a lot better than what Palm has been doing in the past with their marketing team.
I wish for a H/P tablet that syncs w my phone and/or palm profile.
YES! Separately, any webOS device, be it smartphone or tablet, should run like a champion, but together they would DOMINATE!!!
This is the opportunity Apple missed. As I understand it, for all their similarities, the iPhone and iPad have ZERO synergy (Not Palm's Synergy
Well, you pay for iPhone/iPad apps once and it syncs to the iPhone/iPad and runs flawlessly (same iTunes account). If it's a Universal app, it is optimized for either iPhone or iPad display (if not, it displays on iPad in 1x or 2x mode). With cloud-based apps (along with MobileMe), there IS synergy between the two (along with your PC or Mac).
Your Contacts, Calendar, Bookmarks, Photos, music and movies are also synced/available between the two (via iTunes or MobileMe). What else was in mind?
i have to agree here as a Mac since 1989 or so. but you have to have all apple products to get things going together and the iphone, although beautiful, costs way too much to own.
Better yet - How about an HP laptop hybrid like Lenovo's ideaPad hybrid U1. But the HP Laptop would have a removable slate running WebOS. Then the removable slate syncs with your phone and palm profile?!
Oh Ya Boy Howdie!!!
That is what I'm talking about and would be VERY SMART for HP and Palm to make something similar.
Lenovo's IdeaPad Hybrid U1 is very interesting concept that HP and Palm can roll with and bring home in webOS fashion.
For that matter, if Lenovo has IP rights to these designs...share and workout partnership to control the universe and overtake Apple's lacking iPad.
Sorli...
When I first read about this news around last week, I just believed he was going to be one head of the software solution for business, not home. Business group uses windows mostly, has done a lot of acquisitions of hardware and software companies lately and make sense they want to integrate all of that.
Palm is (going to be) under the umbrella of the home group. So I dont see yet webOS expanding all over HP if not as an complementary way of interacting with "big" home computers.
This means, contrary to the speculation on the linked article, I do not see HP ditching windows anytime except where it currently makes a lot of sense, ie: netbooks-like devices and below.
Ok, if is just a marketing thing, my end product related comment do not apply that much. That article in Information Week drove me to wrong conclusions with their wrong conclusions.
According to what's already been said, Palm will be run as its own, separate business unit (my language). Here's the link to PreCentral's language:
http://www.precentral.net/palm-operate-business-unit-within-hp
Microsoft MARKETING people. His hiring is not going to affect end product at all.
Yah but as long as the marketing is as good as what we saw for Windows 7 and not that turd that Palm has put out for the Pre, this should be a good thing.
If this guy is behind the Windows 7 marketing, then I'm pretty pleased by this news. I can't stand Microsoft but their marketing for Win 7 has been pretty impressive and marketing is what the webOS badly needs. I wanna see Android and Apple fanboys alike being slapped all day long with webOS marketing.
If this guy is going to run the "end-to-end" business of Palm, what is Ruby going to do?
Bill Veghte is not doing any of that on the future Palm business unit, is end to end from a different place.
I'd say marketing was where the Pre failed. Clearly, we all think webOS is the way to go and the hardware was adequate for its time. So why doesn't the Pre have more market share? HPalm is making a smart move here. The masses are getting antsy for new hardware though.
Yeah very exciting to see some M$ brass coming over... I can't help but feel a little bad for microsoft here as all their buddies (HP) leave the party (Win7) early.
For the love of Palm, please do NOT have any idiotic "launch parties" like Win7!
A lot of people made fun of this....but funny thing (i actually did it)
1. I got a free copy of Windows 7 Ultimate
2. Got a deck of playing cards
3. GOt discount coupons for some things.
And though i still actually had a "party" (just invited people over to drink and hang out under the guise of a windows 7 party)
I ended up showing people Windows 7 and a few of my friends actually were really interested.
Plus my gf made this awesome cake:
http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs058.snc3/14536_537666669842_32100570_322...
Link didn't work for me. Are the ellipses supposed to be there?
I think they block it in comments unfortunately.
Hopefully this one works:
http://tinyurl.com/2dyesnv
Fun.
I have positive thoughts about this but we will see in the months to come... I hope they make a more rugged pre 1000mhz snap dragon cpu and so on would be UBER...
I hope Palm goes with Texas Intruments new OMAP 4 processor. I think it dwarfs Qualcomms snapdragon. Since Palm was the first to use OMAP 3 with the Palm Pre, it makes more sense that they would use OMAP 4 on their new WebOS device. If I remember correctly OMAP 4 is 1Ghz+
Keep in mind that TI also invented DLP technology. If Palm adopts the OMAP 4 platform, they can utilize pico projection with DLP technology behind it. Perfect for business presentations etc.. I'm not saying Palm would implement this on their next phone but its certainly possible with OMAP 4
+ 5698653254 =)
Qualcomm's Snapdragon is a nice beast...but everyone's using it now. With the best OS in the market and the way things change on the constant...H/Palm's new device (hopefully it's a smartphone - a slate can wait) it requires the best of the best - which includes the TI OMAP4440 Cortex-A9 Processor! This, along with webOS 2.0, will put HP, Palm, and webOS in a position they should have been in the beginning.
If this guy did wonders with marketing Windowa 7 then it's a good welcome to webOS that he's on the team. So what if he came from the competition because if you all didn't know everyone will eventually switch to a team where their full potential can be reached - whether that be HP or Apple or Google. I think H/Palm has (as of this moment) the upper hand because they now have former key players from Apple (JR) and now this kid from Microsoft.
...just imagine all the brilliant minds from all the different companies working under the same roof striving for a common goal (specifically webOS and devices in this case)?!? It's mind boggling.
I'm excited for what is to come!
very interesting
What exactly did he do to make people want to buy Windows 7? As far as I can tell, making it look more like a Mac, and the obsolescense of all those XP boxes pretty much did the job.
He hired, Crispin-Porter & Bogusky to put together the Windows 7 ads, but he also okayed those atrocious Gates-Seinfeld jobs.