Now HP's executive is saying "We stand by webOS", after offically abandoning it.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-19/hewlett-packard-webos-software-bought-with-palm-not-dead-dewitt-says.html
I received the WebOS developer blog in my email with the title "The next chapter for webOS", signed by Richard Kerris VP webOS Developer Relations. In it, it claims the development and innovation will continue, although the planned developer events around the world may have changes. And one of HP's Senior Vice President Stephen DeWitt said in an interview, "The webOS is not dead... We’re going to continue to evolve it, update and support it. We stand by it." If you look at the price of webOS tablet went down in the past weekend, those words carry neither weight nor meaning.
In my previous blog, I believed HP should go for products, not licensing business. Even now there will be no webOS based product from HP, licensing it still makes no sense. The licensing fee will not recoup the R&D cost, as shown by Microsoft Windows Mobile revenue. A cost center will not result in a vibrant environment for innovation, which will kill webOS sooner than later.
HP should find a suitor for webOS and sell it, like Ebay eventually did for Skype. WebOS is modern and has a lot of value in it. It is not a burning platform like Symbian and Nokia Series-60. Find a worthy home for the team before they jump ship to Apple and Google and leave the webOS an empty shell. After all, Palm's office is only 5 to 10 minutes drive away from Google and Apple's headquarters.
In my previous blog, I believed HP should go for products, not licensing business. Even now there will be no webOS based product from HP, licensing it still makes no sense. The licensing fee will not recoup the R&D cost, as shown by Microsoft Windows Mobile revenue. A cost center will not result in a vibrant environment for innovation, which will kill webOS sooner than later.
HP should find a suitor for webOS and sell it, like Ebay eventually did for Skype. WebOS is modern and has a lot of value in it. It is not a burning platform like Symbian and Nokia Series-60. Find a worthy home for the team before they jump ship to Apple and Google and leave the webOS an empty shell. After all, Palm's office is only 5 to 10 minutes drive away from Google and Apple's headquarters.
