Much of the chatter following HP's buyout of Palm has been focused on what the firm's new owner can do for its struggling smartphone presence.
It would now appear that Palm's smartphone business isn't HP's primary concern, but rather its widely regarded operating system webOS that fuelled the move.
Putting the web in webOS
Speaking during HP's quarterly earnings call, company CEO Mark Hurd suggested the PC giant has big plans for Palm's software.
"[The proposed deal] isn't precisely a smartphone play, as I've seen some people write," revealed Hurd.
"It is, for us, strategically broader. We expect to leverage webOS into a variety of form factors, including slates and web-connected printers."
Printers are a surprise target for many, with many commentators suggesting HP's first move will be to equip its forthcoming tablet code named 'Hurricane' - with webOS following power issues with Intel's Atom processor and Windows 7.
Such a move would, in turn, put Palm up against Apple in another market, with the Pre and Pixi both well behind iPhone in the smartphone race.
Print and prosper
Regardless, Hurd believes printers are the perfect fit for webOS, claiming Palm's software will be fully integrated into the HP family.
"It really has more to do with the intellectual property and the fact that when you look across the HP ecosystem of interconnected devices, it is a large family of devices and we think of printers, youve now got a whole series of web-connected printers, and as they connect to the web, [they] need an OS.
[source: DailyTech]
News
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.
Related Articles
Top Stories
News
8 hours, 35 minutes ago
PocketGamer.biz Podcast Week in Views E09 - Supercell's Squad Busters goes global, Embracer Group splits, and Apple's Vision Pro flops
News
Apr 26th, 2024
Week in Views - Squads busted, Apple crushed, War zoned and Snoozin' with the Snorlax…
Feature
Apr 26th, 2024
Speaker Spotlight: Dubai Future Foundation's Faisal Kazim on leading Dubai's gaming charge
Events
Esports Future Summit | Middle East | Apr 27th |
Dubai GameExpo Summit 2024 | Middle East | May 1st |
The MENA Games Industry Awards 2024 | Middle East | May 2nd |
GameDev Atlantic 2024 | May 4th | |
Mobidictum Meetup Berlin May 2024 | Europe | May 7th |
Mobidictum Meetup Tallinn May 2024 | Europe | May 21st |
Israel Mobile Summit 2024 | Middle East | Jun 6th |
DevGAMM Vilnius 2024 | Europe | Jun 14th |
Popular Stories
News
Apr 23rd, 2024
Supercell’s Squad Busters soft launches today with over 100,000 Google Play downloads
Feature
Apr 24th, 2024