HPwebOS.com redesign denies that devices ever existed 95
Sat, 26 Nov 2011 5:39 pm EST 
Palm.com, err, HPwebOS.com used to be a grand portal for all things webOS. You could check out the apps on the platform, get help and support, find devices, and developers could take their first steps into webOS app creation. Those days have changed, with HPwebOS.com having undergone a redesign in recent weeks that reflects the reality of the situation for webOS. Devices and apps altogether have been removed from the equation.
The site had been reduced to a splash screen of the TouchPad Calendar, Photos, and Email apps over three tabs: Community (which inexplicably links to the HP webOS Official Blog and not an official webOS forum or any of the independent webOS communities like this one), Developer (the Developer Center), and Support. Amusingly, hp.com/touchpad has been revamped as well, with a big TouchPad picture to let visitors know that HP’s all out of TouchPads. And just to rub salt in that wound, they use the never-released-in-the-US White TouchPad.
We’re sad to see the site reduced to a redirect instead something more meaningful. We’re really disappointed that there’s nary a mention of what makes webOS the operating system that it is, or the various devices it still runs on. Sure, you have to look hard to find them to buy somewhere, but that doesn’t mean we have to deny that they ever existed.
Source: HPwebOS.com; Thanks to Måns and Cecil for the tips
95 Comments
This is going to be Bob Newhart all over again. We are going to wake up a year from now to find the whole webOS thing was just a dream.
By the way, Mikey, you really should wear more sweaters.
A Pda Keyboard (personal digital
assistant), also known as a palmtop computer,or personal data assistant,
is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager.
Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet. A PDA
has an electronic visual display, enabling it to include a web browser,
but some newer models also have audio capabilities, enabling them to
be used as mobile phones or portable media players. Many PDAs can
access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi or Wireless Wide
Area Networks. Many PDAs employ touchscreen technology.
A Pda Keyboard (personal digital
assistant), also known as a palmtop computer,or personal data assistant,
is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager.
Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet. A PDA
has an electronic visual display, enabling it to include a web browser,
but some newer models also have audio capabilities, enabling them to
be used as mobile phones or portable media players. Many PDAs can
access the Internet, intranets or extranets via Wi-Fi or Wireless Wide
Area Networks. Many PDAs employ touchscreen technology.
It still hurts and annoys me that such a great platform was horribly executed and then put to the sword. Imagine Steve Jobs being in charge of webOS's execution from the start.
*sigh*
Great things may be one person's idea, but it always NEVER is executed by just one person. The same people who acted on behalf of Apple to turn it around are... well, US. WE can do the same with webOS....
....of course, as long as HP will LET us do it.
I see people around here say that, but Apple turned around with new management, new products, and a new focus.
People here just want the same HP to start up the same ole' WebOS again with some slightly higher-quality designs for the tablets and phones. And keep in mind that everyone here DEFENDED the exact same design decisions before (e.g. "I hate a big brick in my pocket, so they should keep smaller screens." "I hope they keep the portrait slider form factor because I don't want a slab like everyone else." "I LOVE the heft of the Touchpad because the iPad2 and Galaxy Tab are so thin they feel fragile to me.").
So nothing changes except that they are further behind than ever with less developer momentum than ever with more competition than ever.
Does that sound like a recipe for HP re-entering this fray to you?
no they do not. We all want them to get their heads out of their a55es and start listening to what the market wants. Why do you think walmart became do successful? Because their principle business model is called "pull" model where they supply more of those products that are in demand, as opposed to "push" model. In fact just yesterday I made a comment about how long at&t pixie+ was offered, even outlived the veer which was ment to replace it. Why? Because its not a slider!!!
ok, I like sliders, but many want a slab, and they are usually more durable than sliders. Pixie is the proof - see how long it lasted.
*I'm* fine with TP the way it is, but yes it needs to be thinner and lighter because it is an issue for others ...and more durable.
conclusion: had HP listened to what the market wants and been smarter about pricing webos would have been on its way to success.
Uh, they did listen to what WebOS FANS wanted. Every move they made was championed and defended to death on these very forums.
No they didn't! We all wanted a PHONE! (Pre 3 and a slab version) None of this community really wanted a Tablet primary. Sure we like our TouchPad but majority was holding out for the better spec phone before Venturing into the tablet version. The TouchPad was going to be our secondary device to fool with, but I'm pretty sure like 90% if not 100% of the already current WebOS user base wanted first and foremost a better spec PHONE! Instead HP tried to go for newer users with the TouchPad instead of its current loyal WebOS users and didn't listen to us WebOS fans at all! This WebOS community has brought in new users to WebOS often with our crappy hardware Pre- and could of easily done the same with our newer, better spec Pre 3's and Slab Phones but no HP chose to focus on a Tablet instead. Its not even hard to bring in a new WebOS user to the TouchPad if they see how it works on a Phone!
HP did NOT listen to its own WebOS Fans one bit!
Which of course is BS. You guys on here were cheering HP every step of the way along with the idiot blog writers.
Nice generalization there.
And if a company is going to invest $3 billion on something, they should worry about what a few hundred fanboys want them to do, rather than doing market research and focus groups. HP knew how poorly the Pixi sold, and yet they STILL chose to make the Veer their first HP branded phone, and held back the one phone that had any hope of selling more than a few thousand units (Pre 3) until after doomsday.
exactly my point! The consumer market is moving towards big ...no, HUGE screen slabs. The few sliders that are out are made by already established players and are not main/flagship devices.
instead hp went with completely opposite device! A tiny slider pre-teen phone instead of a pre3.
I'm not saying the pre3 should have been a slab (although it would have been VERY nice to have that option as well), but what exactly did hp expect when they put out a product that is completely opposite in every way from what Joe the consumer wants???
Apparently, their "market research" told them that your #phonestobig.
I remember precentral banning quite a number of people who were critical of the Veer. They championed it.
So you've finally conceded failure in your attempts to defend HP's endless string of moronic decisions and the world's dumbest board of directors and are now just attacking Palm fanboys for their enthusiasm for their platform and devices. Nice.
...yep, there's always a way for jerrydan to insult everyone here by claiming that every one of us here who likes webOS and is damnig HP "is stupid because (...)" - and here goes his another 180deg tailspin to his previously presented views. Sometimes in two consecutive posts, so no real surprise here.
interesting comment. "us" turning it around that is. I have to wonder if that's true partly because the devices that where released were largely applauded by the precentral community. They loved the touchpad, they love physical keyboards, They love the pre and the pixi and they loved the veer. They also strenuously said man of these devices had no lag or any other problem in the OS. The public however didn't agree and didn't buy. Thus I have to wonder if those same people that thought what the products they released where the right products can spark change. What precentral people like the general public doesn't. My two cents.
Yup.
Yup +1
Huge and inaccurate generalization. Any group of tech fanboys will largely applaud new devices and upgrades being released for their platform, especially one that's been on life support for so long. And HP did say that they were in it for the long haul, we had no reason to expect slab phones and OS improvements and all the other things HP didn't do were't forthcoming eventually.
Wow, you did a great job. How did you get the idea for the ipad and the iphone?
Kanaka, and i don't say this remotely to be rude, but i think if Jobs had been in charge of webos's execution from the start you'd see quite a bit different and in many ways better hardware and software. Obviously you'd likely not have a keyboard. But also i don't think it would remotely feel of cheap plastic or even of plastic at all. I think many things ignored in the OS would have been there at launch, like dedicated palm music and video syncing software, remember it launched w/o a scrobbler? I think the music player still has some loose ends after all this time like that it lists The Beatles under "T" and not "B" and sees two songs by the same artist but with one tag capitalized and another lower case as different artists.
I think Jobs is someone that does not like to comprimise and expects perfection. I don't think he'd have let the Pre minus launch like that with that app basically half done. I think when they launched the touchpad, basically the webos reboot. i don't think he'd have made the same mistake of not launching with the big name apps. I think he'd have paid them to make the the big ones. Obviously the marketing would be less square jcrew HP and a bit cooler like the apple ads.
But i guess my overall point is i think what passes as acceptable for Jobs would have been different, a much higher standard, and thus the products would have been quite different, better possibly.
Exactly what i meant. webOS would run on much better hardware, would be far more polished AND would be marketed brilliantly.
And be tied down. You users would be nothing more than revenue streams to Jobs.
As cheap as most webOS users seem to be on here, that might not have gone over so well.
But he wouldn't have released webOS & hardware without a plan to be profitable. He would have insisted on having some kind of paid infrastructure.
In case you don't remember the iPhone launched without an App Store and they only created one in response to pressure from people jail-breaking to run 3rd party apps.
A dedicated Palm music and video syncing software is at least IMO the last thing on my list. I hate proprietary software for stuff like that. The Pre- launched with iTunes support didn't it?(Yea it was a bit of a hack...)Isn't that better than some crappy palm program to do it? I felt that the Pre was a step toward the future to rid ourselves of crappy desktop sync programs. Why else didn't palm just make a new Palm Desktop to go along with synergy?
I kinda like the soft touch back of the pre touchstone back. Doesn't feel like I'm going to have it shatter when I drop it like my parents iPhone 4s. That is most uncomfortable and fragile feeling electronic device ever made. It looks nice but compromises way to much to form over function.
Remember in 2009 when the Pre was first shown off and the tech press loved it? Everyone thought it was the new hot thing.
Then nothing happend for six months.
Steve Jobs would have never let that happen.
WebOS had a lot of problems, but one big one was the continued failure to convert public excitement into sales and developer interest by delaying everything for so long.
Worse, Jobs would not have abandoned the stellar PIM data carry over Palm ALWAYS preserved to that point. And the new phone, didn't have anywhere near the functionality (and still doesn't for many features) as the Treo. And they cut way too many corners on hardware and specs. Slick UI, nice multitasking, great synergy, but as a business and entertainment superstar, not even close.
A true emulator, PIM carryover, supplemental storage and better batteries, Pre had a decent chance. But they took the weaknesses of iphone and did them even worse.
If I recall correctly, the iPhone actually became available for sale 6 months after it was introduced. The big difference was that it actually lived up to much of its hype. The Pre, as you stated, was introduced with similar fanfare, but the product that was actually sold 6 months later was a disappointment.
I think it also helped that Apple pretty much narrowed down the launch date (I believe down to the month) DURING the introduction whereas Palm pulled their "first half of the year" nonsense.
> Imagine Steve Jobs being in charge of webOS's execution from the start.
He kind of was, and that's why it ended up as a successful OS on ditto devices. Apple did almost everything right, and those things they didn't do right, they made people accept anyway.
The fork version carried on by Rube ended up as we all know; doing almost everything wrong, and those things that did not go wrong — they made people dismiss anyway ...
Yes.. It would be called... IOS/iPhone
"Works the way you do"
uh. . . slow?
:D
couldn't resist. . .
It works the way you do, slowly, so you get more done.
Brilliant logic :D
how about going to http://www.hpwebos.com/au for some old goodness? It even has got Garnet powered PDAs. Huh.
Wow.
Fantastic!
Very nice. :)
Hey thats cool!
It's just like http://www.hpwebos.com/nl
I love it :D
ETERNAL OPTIMIST MODE:
If you search through the list of media which is loaded, you'll notice that various hardware buttons are still part of the site:
* http://www.hpwebos.com/us/assets/images/landing/icon_event_roll-dark.png
* http://www.hpwebos.com/us/assets/images/landing/icon_touchpad_roll-dark.png
* http://www.hpwebos.com/us/assets/images/landing/icon_phones_roll-dark.png
AND they're still in the same folder at the images for the links that already exist on the page:
* http://www.hpwebos.com/us/assets/images/landing/icon_community-dark.png
* http://www.hpwebos.com/us/assets/images/landing/icon_developer-dark.png
* http://www.hpwebos.com/us/assets/images/landing/icon_support-dark.png
MY THEORY: They're not on the frontpage... for now. But if HP REALLY was going to ditch hardware, they would have deleted those elements from the site AND they wouldn't have been loaded to begin with.
So... just food for thought. :3
...who would give me a "-1" for pointing out that the images of hardware still exist on their server?
maybe they are the sort of people that don't like optimism. Like people that don't like happy morning people.
Commenting on your own post and then complaining about getting downvoted is like begging for it.
I work in web development for a university, and a lot of the time we forget to (or choose not to) delete the unused assets when we change a page.
HP isn't a single body where everyone knows what is going on (which should be obvious after everything that has happened). The web development team probably has no idea about what is happening with webOS, so they are leaving the assets until they know for sure.
Well, except that the Support page link takes you to all the Palm & HP webOS devices, with pictures, too. The article's headline is just a bit misleading.
Still the same pages in the UK
http://www.hpwebos.com/uk/en/
I still just can't believe it :-( F U HP!
And it what seems like a precursor to its eventual sale or handoff to someone else... it's now "webOS" not "HP webOS".
Totally AGREE!!! A sale or licensing agreement is likely coming soon IMO.
Even licencing possibility, love it or hate it.
So it's an OS with no hardware? hmmm, remind anyone of Palm [Access] PalmOS 6.0? Good luck with that!
I think I agree, 12 months from now, I would say that webOS is a dream and remnants of my touchpad's past. :(
Meg, Open Source the damned thing already!
Dreams of running webOS on my desktop are looking bleak.
it would be nice if they atleast added support for all types of smartphones and for a small fee you can flash any smartphone to the latest version of webos.
That would be interesting wouldn't it? make a build of webOS for a variety of android phones and tablets, and sell it for $50. I'd buy it.
Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it'd be legally impossible for HP to do that - they'd face legal opposition from the OEM's, carriers and probably Google as well. I doubt also the market would ever be very big for something like that; the percentage of people even interested in running webOS AND willing to void the warranty on their phone or tablet would be pretty small. Worse yet, a goodly percentage of those remaining few are probably the sort who think they shouldn't have to pay for an operating system and would just pirate it.
well the way I see it, the mobile market is ever evolving. Smartphones are the new computers in my eyes. If hp really wanted to get in the services business and software then why don't they try to cut deals with htc, lg, samsung, sony errikson, and offer services through mobile carriers where if you chose at time of purchase you can upgrade or chose the os on your phone. They do it for you or you can do it your self without voiding any warranties. That would be an industry first and probably be successful. This how they can use their leverage. But what do I know. I'm just a nobody that loves techology and spend lots of hard eatn cash on it.
Who the f*ck wants to buy generic hardware and choose an OS to install when they are buying a phone? You are completely out of touch with the smartphone market.
There is a bigger market for this than you may think.
P.S. They are called techies.
well there is a market for that already in the pc, laptop markets. you can buy a acer laptop for a couple hundred bucks with the latest version of windows or you can just install whatever other os you prefer on your own without voiding any kind of warranty. it is only logical to assume that the smartphone market would offer that flexibility being they are miniature computers and as time goes on they will only become more powerful and capable of doing things our normal desktops can do with ease. the smartphone and mobile market is ever changing. what you see now does not represent of what will be in a couple of years. you say im out of touch? id like to think im more in tune with whats to come bro. i will like to see manufactures give us to choice of os for our smartphones in the near future. **** it will be even more awesome to be given the choice to build our own smartphones similar to the way you can customize your own laptops and desktop at the hp website. why arent these idiots at hp thinking of this already?????!!!!????
actually what they could do is let webos be "generally installable" like windows 8 is supposed to be. If a user wants to install it on whatever device so be it. But webos wouldn't be "for a particular device X". That could probably work.
It probably would not work.
Most consumers don't even bother upgrading their OS because they don't care. I imagine there are even fewer consumers willing to "select" an operating system. They simply buy a device and use whatever OS is on it. This applies to both computers and phones.
Pretty sure most consumers DO upgrade their OS. They have been trained by Windows that this is necessary the instant it is available.
On a side, I think I am the only iPhone owner (work phone) that does not immediately upgrade to the latest iOS as soon as it's available, although anytime my TouchPad (or my Pre when there were updates) has said an update is available I said GO GO GO.
Negative. Not even with Microsoft Windows do people keep their machines up to date (heck, they even went as far as providing an auto-update feature and people still tend not to use it). Regardless of the number that actually upgrade, an even smaller number will switch to another OS. No matter how you slice it, it's a FAR cry from having a viable market where people care enough to pick and choose their phone OS.
does anyone know if the "developer" section is the same as before or altered. Like did they add new material or take stuff away from that section.
same
Did anyone notice the "About Palm" in the footer of the page? was it there before?
what I HP up too? I sure hope its worth their followers staying on board!
I think everyone is reading a little too much in to this. At first I did too, thinking it was another sign that the end is nigh.
However it actually makes perfect sense, and reflects the current status of webOS at HP. HP is not currently making or selling ANY webOS devices. There are a few still being sold on the market (a handful of phones at carriers, some touchpads at a few retailers as bundle-bait), but for HP the current devices are done. *IF* HP decides to keep webOS and makes another go at devices (probably just tablets, at least at first), then there's zero possibility that the existing Touchpad will be back.
So, regardless of the possible future, good or bad, NONE of the currently existing webOS devices will be back. So it makes no sense to display them anywhere except on the support site (where the do NOT deny that they ever existed).
I'm not saying this is a good sign either; I think it means nothing either way.
It would still be nice for new visitors to the site (which is probably close to zero) to at least see that it is an OS that has been proven on an actual device.
Now the only thing someone trying to visit the site for the first time has, is the idea - or dream - that it may be possible to be on a device someday, but no current evidence, other than Googling for failed products.
The way HP handled Webos the Alpha Chip, Compaq etc, Why bother. I avoid their printers and ther products now at all times.
Their printers are actually quite good, although their drivers tend to either be ridiculously bloated or not very useful.
I am actually kind of surprised they never mentioned trying to port webOS to their graphing calculators, which is where they really got off to the races back in the day.
There is something strangely fascinating and magnificent in watching an entity as large and successful as HP continue to:
A. do everything in its power to offend a significant consumer group,
B. destroy whatever value and potential a terrific little OS they paid through the nose for has and,
C. appear as directionless as an alzheimer's patient behind the wheel of a car.
It's like watching the Titanic sink. Sure, it's a terrible thing but dang if it ain't spectacular, too.
Your analogy for part C is priceless!
Sometimes I think this was probably on a slide in the board room one day for actionable items.
Its over people move on already crappy phones and no apps why are people so sad.I love my touch pad on Android haven't switched back to web os since it came out no reason too.HP will never get a dime from me Meg your company sucks you burned to many people and to many bridges HP just needs to go away all together I have never seen anything every like this what a bunch of quitters I could have done a better job then they did **** my cat could have done better.Way to destroy Palm someone needs to step in and just buy the Palm name back to get it out of HP hands
I'll bid 99 cents for the Palm name
Maybe they have secret products in the pipeline that will go "SUPRISE!" and demolish the competition!
/hope
Don't...don't do it. You'll only have heartburn in the end.
Stupid HP kills wonderful WEBOS. Sooner or later HP will regret.
RIP HP-HPwebOS - but let's hope Palm webOS rides again.
webOS and it's devices are far from perfect.... BUT they give a choice for people who want the smoother user experience.
I have Android on my TouchPad with some medical apps that aren't on TouchPad. But when it comes to web surfing, just listening to music, then I run webOS, because it is just so darn easy.
My wife loves her TouchPad but won't get a Pre# because she likes her horizontal slider even though it is a low-end Android that barely struggles to boot any more. iOS gives a super user experience.
it seems to me that Android offers choice. iOS offers premium experience, but is losing market share, although Siri may help reverse that for a while. HP offered something nebulous for user-experience, and no choice in new phones (vertical sliders only), which seems like a guaranteed fail then.
Mattias Duarte saw the writing on the wall, and Ice Cream Sandwich is the result. As much as I hate to say it about my favorite OS, unless HP board wants to alienate there shareholders spending another 5 billion or so, (and all follow Leo out the door) it would be a stupid business decision to keep webOS going. It's the "art" version of an OS, and art lives in museums run on donations, not at Walmart.
But I have always been a sucker for good art, and nicer OS's. In the next couple years I expect my webOS devices (Pre's 1-3 and 2 TouchPads) will join my Amiga in the attic.... Sigh.
as much as it pains me I guess I will just take this site out of my bookmarks and never come back again. It was great here when there was Palm... Now we're just hangers on, too invested to let go.
hey guys I know this sucks. IMO I would suggest switching to a samsung galaxy SII. I got my wife one & I haven't stopped playing with it. It has an open is & is nice & slick. Ice Cream Sandwich has plenty of web os like features. I ordered me one & I will not return to web os, unless there is some kind of miracle. I won't miss web os at all. Android central is pretty good too. You should check it out
GS2 is a great transition device for WebOS users. Have had mine nearly 3 months. So much happened in the wireless space, while we held vigil for WebOS in the ICU. Looking forward to the ICS upgrade/update, but I'm fine until that's bulletproof and totally ready.
WebOS IS DEAD! By the time HP realizes their mistake and decides to launch a product with WebOS, the os will be so behind it will look like windows phone, android and Apple have invented what we treasure to be WebOS. Just look at Androids ice cream sandwich, its palm OS. Blackberry and the playbook its a touchpad. It is pissing me off that I had to resort to IPhone ad their lackluster notification system. HP just give it up, the momentum is not in you favor anymore. The whole planet is on Android or IOS. You lost the feeling unless you bring out some kickass hardware
I think if they were to bring it back it can't just be the same 3.x and it would have to include
1) more functionality
2) kill them bugs
3) apps, and good useful ones!
4-optional) some new eye candy like live wallpaper and/or widgets
at this point I have little confidence that hp is competent and capable enough to pull this off.
question...
Preware had hundreds of patches for pres since forever back. How hard is it for hp to arrange with the devs of those said patches to use them, to cleanup some code (if needed) and put them natively into webos??? 99% of work has already been done for them! WHY are they so incompetent that they can't even do THAT!?
"How hard is it for hp to arrange with the devs of those said patches to use them,"
I don't think it even needs to be arranged specially in any way, since these are all patches to the OpenSource parts of the system, they have to be OpenSource themselves by definition. Just merge them & unit test properly with the rest of stuff...
seems to me that their shutting down the device business and just continue with the software....
It is a bit harsh of them to put the white touchpad on the US site. Me being in europe, I'm one lucky **** to have gotten my hand on one of this white touchpads..
:) hard not to laugh at your comment. In case you haven't noticed, few months ago they've announced they were firing the whole hardware division, so yes, it might be, possibly, that probably, supposedly, maybe, it really SEEMS like they are shutting hardware down for good!
I totally got that since I check pre central and other webs related sites daily.
But, there were also rumors that HP is thinking about resurrecting the touchpad or starting new development of new webOS devices. After all, they didn't make any decision about webOS just yet, so it could easily be that they start to create webOS devices again since they ended up keeping the PSG group.
However, since they removed the devices from the website it seems more and more to me that the decision that we're gonna hear beginning of december is not gonna have webOS devices in it, but software only which couldn't be any good news for webOS (unless their gonna license it to HTC or something :P)
So don't laugh too hard ;)
I switched in June 2010 to the EVO 4G. Said I would be back when Palm did greater things... The reason I'm here today is to pay my respects.
Deny? I don't see the site 'denying' they ever existed...I see it ignoring or not recognizing...but denying requires a negative declaration/statement that they didn't exist.
Sad, but not as ominous as 'denying'. That would be weird though, wouldn't it?
BTW, it's not just bad webdesign for webos. I went on their site to get drivers for one of laptop tablets. Can't find any of the materials, none of the supports, no downloads.
I had to go out of the site and search to find material for current customers.
They've redesigned all their sites. And they just suck.
an os has to achieve critical mass to succeed. I think it was pretty obvious that webos/touchpad weren't going to do that at premium price. Unlike Apple, HP didn't educate the market and didn't have the apps. I don't think that if HP were to reverse course and remanufacture the TP that people would want to pay a premium IPAD price for Touchpads... Even though it has now achieved critical mass. Anyone agree?
Leo really messed things up.
I can't imagine Hurd went into the deal for Palm at $1.2B and had any second thoughts about investing another $2B to develop webOS into a profitable enterprise. How much has Google or Apple invested in their OSs in hte same time? A lot more than $2B.
Unfortunately, Leo did his damage before getting the boot. Meg may have no choice but to mothball webOS. There's a chance that HP could take it back up in earnest, and start developing devices again. It would be a lot less expensive at this point, though, to move to Android for everything portable. They could try to sell webOS, but licesning would be more profitable in the long run. They would have to take a huge loss on a sale.
I have suggested a hybrid Android/webOS system in the past. It wouldn't be a huge task to make a skin for Android that copied the look and feel of webOS. Mutitasking, cards, wave launcher, no problem. But it would be almost impossible to give Android what some call webOS DNA. Synergy is duplicable, but making all that (behind the scenes intuitive linking of accounts stuff) work as well as it does on webOS is hard. Everyone is trying to do it. Nobody is winning.
If that is what we want, then the best outcome will be some sort of sharing/cross licensing of webOS with Google.
If another manufacturer buys webOS, then it is dead. Who else is going to invest the 10's or 100's of billions of dollars it will take to develop it into a stable platform in the current market. The potential is there, but what business can afford those risks, besides HP?
If I were Meg, (and if Meg believed as I do) I would go to the board and say, "We need to stick it out for the long term with webOS mobile devices, including phones. We need to be prepared to make large investments into development of the OS, apps, and hardware to build a profitable ecosystem over the next 5 to 7 years. We should also initiate a dialogue with other forces in the market, such as Google, to see if there are ways we can offer them access to our related IP in exchange for access to OS development and cross compatibilty resources."
HP would make some great hardware, develop webOS into a first rate OS, and it would have access to and compatibility with Android Apps and the Android market. webOS would run on an Android kernel like a highly customized ROM.
I'm dreaming, I know.
Now, back to my Epic.
I would rather mix dog **** with my peanutbutter, than mix webos with android....ijs