HP has passed on entertaining Windows Phone 7 software for their much anticipated handset line. As you know, HP recently acquired Palm and has made several strong statements and a stubborn stance to develop Palm’s webOS into several new additions, not just with smartphones, but tablets and other devices. HP’s real vision is “connectivity”, and they think they’ve bought a strong enough Mobile OS in Palm’s webOS to compete with the likes of Google, Microsoft and even Apple.
HP’s Executive Vice President Todd Bradley admitted that Microsoft and his company are tight. HP is Microsoft’s largest customer, and Bradley did confirm for the first time that HP will build a tablet computer based on Microsoft’s Windows 7. But it does seem that HP will base their new phones on the webOS product. What does this mean for Microsoft? It means that Microsoft’s Mobile Phone 7 will have to be a winner right out of the gate, because giant HP won’t be there to support revenues in the handset category for Microsoft.
While Apple and Google have been in the marketshare limelight for sometime, HP’s webOS threatens to make things interesting. Former Apple hardware chief Jon Rubinstein is now heading HP’s mobile division, and he’s got money and a lot of resources to complicate the Android and iPhone monopoly.
Published on July 30, 2010
