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HP: webOS to be leveraged across tablets and printers

Not so bothered about smartphones

HP: webOS to be leveraged across tablets and printers
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, you’ve now got a whole series of web-connected printers, and as they connect to the web, [they] need an OS.”

[source: DailyTech]

With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font.