“Hewlett-Packard Co. is in talks to license its WebOS mobile software, Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker said in an interview,” Edmond Lococo, Jun Yang, Olga Kharif, and Cliff Edwards report for Bloomberg. “‘We are talking to a number of companies,’ Apotheker said in Beijing, declining to elaborate on details. ‘I can share with you that a number of companies have expressed interest. We are continuing our conversations.'”
“WebOS would give hardware makers a choice beyond Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Android operating system and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows software as they seek to challenge Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s grip on the smartphone and tablet-computer markets,” Lococo, Yang, Kharif, and Edwards report. “‘The reality is that Google and Apple are in the driving seat here and consumers are voting with their dollars,’ said Shaw Wu, a San Francisco-based analyst for Sterne Agee & Leach Inc. He recommends buying HP shares and doesn’t own the stock. ‘The problem for HP here is how do they license it without competing with their own products?'”
Lococo, Yang, Kharif, and Edwards report, “Samsung Electronics Co. held talks to use WebOS in its smartphones, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions… Android may have recently experienced some defections among developers and consumers. In a June 20 report, Needham & Co. analyst Charlie Wolf said Android’s U.S. market share declined sequentially in the March quarter to 49.5 percent, from 52.4 percent. He predicted it will continue to decline, as more consumers opt for the Apple’s iPhone.”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: If so, good news for Apple: The more OSes in the marketplace, the more confusion. This benefits Apple as consumers will gravitate even more to the leader with the vibrant ecosystem offering the most apps, third-party accessories, and features such as AirPlay.
HP acquires Palm to get WebOS, in order to better differentiate its own products. Then, after continuing work on WebOS for another year, HP is going to license WebOS to competing hardware makers? What a dumb move that would be… and good for Apple (as stated in MDN Take).
HPalm better keep very tight screws on the OS and the app store or they will be screwed by the OEMs and the telcos.
Why buy the expensive HPalm Phone when you can buy the cheap Korean copy? Why buy apps from HP when Verizon has their own app store?
Apple already learned this lesson. That’s why they make money off of every single phase of the ecosystem.
To be 100% fair, Apple did partner with HP on those HP-branded iPods, while retaining full control. So this kind of partnership isn’t entirely without precedent in the Apple world.
True, yesterday’s HP iPods were nothing like today’s iOS devices, so it’s not a perfect analogy. Nevertheless, it is possible to license out your platform while retaining full control and the ability to end the license at any time. (See: the Mac Clone era.) I’m guessing that’s what HP has in mind here.
The HP iPod was around for one generation of iPod. AND it was the exact same iPod with an HP logo. It’s not an “analogy” at all. 🙂
I think this is great news! HP’s (formally Palm’s) Web OS is a great competitor to iOS, in some ways the best competitor. A move like this will further challenge Apple and will allow them to continually make improvements to iOS. Web OS is a strong platform, dare I say the only mobile OS capable of matching iOS?
You’re right. I remember Web OS kicking iPhone’s ass when Palm had it. NOT!
” A move like this will further challenge Apple and will allow them to continually make improvements to iOS”
I believe what “allows” Apple to innovate, and what motivates them to do so, has nothing to do with competitors.
Next up Schumer and the clown from MN. They will demand that apple license IOS. If HP can do it, then apple should.
their histrionics will get more hilarious when the HP tablet utterly fails.
More likely John Boner and Eric Canwhore will want to make sure that HP gets US subsidies and pays no taxes while cutting national unemployment benefits to pay for the HP benefit package.
Don’t blame all Minnesotans for her, just those in the 6th District.
If true, then Samsung will be moving from their current very poor-quality iOS knockoff to a slightly better iOS knockoff that’s partially designed by ex-Apple engineers. Easier to blatantly copy Apple’s designs that way, I suppose…
WebOS needs developers and Apps. But that maybe hard to come by if there aren’t enough devices in the hands of consumers (right now, the total number is insignificant with the early Pre champions desperate for an iPhone slayer). But the consumers won’t rush to embrace a platform without Apps and a thriving App Store/Marketplace. Catch 22. The carriers also may not warm readily to support WebOS only just to toss off future customer loyalty.
Hence, HP figured they may need to license their “prized” OS, and frankly Samsung is trying to find a way out of Android trap and patent licensing and constant lawsuits. But as others have mentioned, HP may not find an easier way to license their OS and then compete against it (there’s not enough sweet spot for an early platform like this). Plus, it will again create fragmentation, that which was the purpose for HP to acquire this in the first place.
So right now, the only game of this early decade and the shape of things to come is iPad. If it stays even at the current pace, it will dominate and devour everything and their careful plannings. Chase the iPhone while the puck has moved on.
HP should have a great partnership with Samsung because Samsung are a reputable company that respects the intellectual property of their partners.
…. err …. oops. HP will need to watch their back working with partners like that.
Samsung has their own smartphone OS, called Bada, which I presume is Linux-derived. I recall that they sold 3.5M of those smartphones last quarter, which means they probably sold more than WP7. Why they’d fragment their offerings even more is incredible.
Most phone manufacturers will attempt to enter every market niche possible, if they think they can make money.
They’d do a MS-DOS phone if they thought it would sell.
I certainly welcome this news.
HP’s mobile offerings will be first-rate. Web OS will prove to be an esteemed platform that just works. It won’t be better than iOS, but it doesn’t have to be, it need only be ‘good enough’ to be a commercial success.
Sure, Web OS is a new platform for mobile devices and the shelves of their ‘app’ store are empty but it won’t be that way for long. It remains to be seen what kind of relationship will exist btwn HP and the platform developers, how refined the approval process is, and how much marketing exposure HP can provide.
Developers new to the platform will cash in immediately and HP will give them plenty of latitude in the hopes of fostering a harmonious environment. The early pioneers will be follwed by the giants of the industry, who will be seeking to offer the killer app.
Personally, i don’t think there’s enough time to develop any more platforms before the handheld mobile platform changes dramatically once again. The novelty of native apps will enjoy a short-lived existence that served as a transitional process btwn the desktop and mobile metaphores.
I can see HP licencing Apple’s IP that would give WebOS customers access to Apple’s mobile platform offerings. HP is a hardware company too and probably aren’t interested in reinventing the wheel.
This is all very new, when viewed in the proper context, but technology is changing exponentially and the notion of handhelds will be over before it’s begun.
The smartphone hasn’t arrived yet.
“HP’s mobile offerings will be first-rate. Web OS will prove to be an esteemed platform that just works. It won’t be better than iOS, but it doesn’t have to be, it need only be ‘good enough’ to be a commercial success.”
You’re kidding, right?
“You’re kidding, right?”
Yeah. What was I thinking? You’re obviously a big admirer of Steve Ballmer and you’re probably waiting for Win7 to rock our world.
I can see HP licencing Apple’s IP that would give WebOS customers access to Apple’s mobile platform offerings.
Uh… wow. You really have no idea how impossible that would be, do you? Unless you think HP’s webOS engineers have enough spare time to duplicate all of Apple’s Cocoa Touch APIs on top of their existing webOS APIs…
The novelty of native apps will enjoy a short-lived existence that served as a transitional process btwn the desktop and mobile metaphores.
I think you mean “metaphors”. And the rest of this sentence is just as wrong factually as the spelling at the end.
I wasn’t suggesting WebOS would run iOS apps, but could instead have access to the iTunes store.
Thank you for correcting my spelling of the plural of metaphor.
I stand by my statement that native apps are a novelty in the scheme of things. I know it’s hard to imagine a world in which the OS doesn’t exist, but it comes easy for me.
HP licensing webOS is suicide. It would be like Apple licensig iOS.
If HP keeps webOS, they have a chance (just a chance, mind you) of succeeding. License webOS, and they become just another commodity OS.
I think HP may be second-guessing their ability to compete with Apple on iPad. So they are looking for a way to NOT have the Palm acquisition become a total waste of money and effort.
Or, since HP did not seem all that interested in making phones, they will license WebOS for use in phones, while keeping it for their own exclusive use in tablets (and PCs).
It is certainly possible that HP is second guessing themselves.
My statement was inspired by Horace Deidu at asymco.com, who advocates the advantages of integrated platforms like Apple & iOS or potentially webOS & HP, of the component approach like Android or WinPho7 & everyone and their cousin as hardware partners.
RIM would fall in the integrated camp. Their current trouble and likely demise shows that while the integrated approach may be an advantage, there are other risks, like poor planning and execution, that can still bring a company down.
I welcome this news. WebOS is a great platform, far superior to Android. However, Palm hardware is so terrible, they simply can’t compete. A Samsung-built phone with WebOS has the potential to be fantastic device.
As an aside, I don’t understand the vitriol towards companies not Apple. HP hasn’t done any of the kind of evil crap that Google or Microsoft has. And Apple may not need competition to innovate, but I don’t think you could argue that Apple ignores competition. For instance, would we have seen the notifications overhaul I’m iOS 5 without the competition from Android?
Agreed.
HP sold me a PC with XP before all the Windows anti-virus updates came out.
It doesn’t get any eviler than that.
That’s just technology. It’s always that next week, something newer and better will come out.
If you don’t understand that, go back to using an abacus.
If Samsung moves from the free Android OS to a license expense with H-P, it would be a good indicator of how insecure the hardware makers are feeling with the low beta quality of Android and its IP vulnerability.
I have been wondering where a true potential competitor to iOS may come from. Android has clearly been the new Linux all along: a lot of hype, a few zealots, big for a while, then fade to insignificance. Licensed WebOS could be a contender, and I am not ruling out Microsoft’s ability to steal others’ ideas to make it’s OS better. I do believe one of these two will become the real challenger to iOS. My money, though, is on the treachery of Microsoft. On the other hand, Balmer is in charge.