HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

http://allthingsd.com/20110818/break...ware-business/

Kind of a bad year for Linux, at least on the mobile space. First Meego, now WebOS.. Of course, there is still Android, but that's kind of a Linux perversion:)

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

and anotherone bites the dust.

very sad

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

At least they got a product out.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

HP is also planning to spin-off PC hardware unit. Seems like they want to do just SW and services. Have wanted to buy WebOS device for a long time. Palm/HP never made any availeable. :(

EDIT: Kind of insane that Windows-PC market leader cannot make enough profit from hardware. Just shows how pitiful margins are for Microsoft OEMs. Lesson that Nokia learned while making computers couple of decades ago and will re-learn during the next couple of years.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

So... thoughts on what this *might* mean for MeeGo?

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Feel bad for Ari. It was great to read his blog post-Nokia. He was so enthusiastic and it seemed like he at last had employer that gave him enough resources.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

It's funny really. In the mean time Nokia has "killed" Symbian, but it refuses to die despite "everyone" hating it. It will go down sooner or later, but still, Ovi store is skyrocketing, growing at a faster rate than both iOS and Android.

What will HP do now? Android or Microsoft? maybe a little of both? do anyone really care?

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

It's really hard to see what this means, but I give it a shot:

Android: Will stay #1 platform for mobile devices for years to come, however there will be increased tensions and search for alternatives among Android manufacturers because of Googlorola.

iOS: Will continue to be successful for premium devices

RIM: Steady decline, will cease to exist within a year or two

Symbian: Well, we know. No future.

Windows Phone: Will get a slight bump when Nokia starts to ship their WinPhones. But will linger as mee-to (just like Bing compared to Google).

I do see an opening for Linux / MeeGo. It could be a colorful platform chosen by emerging manufactures who do not want to pay licenses (like Android to MS).
There needs to be one or two lead device makers though. Maybe LG and one of the Chinese ones?

Or:
Nokia's board could wake up, dismiss the CEO and itself, and bring in sane management. They might see that there is an interesting strategy (QT, MeeGo up, Symbian slowly phased out).

But I guess I am just dreaming.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Aari had been the first (very sad) thought I had, waiting for his next blog post now

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

HP You FAIL :(

soon there seems to be no alternatives left no I am even more PISSED!

I want I cool Linuxtablet not an crippled Linux like android :(

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

very sad news, the future dead of maemo and meego supporting hardware, WebOS was the only alternative to have a future true linux device in our pockets.

I was serious thinking buying a palm pre or a touchpad go as a posible alternative to N9...now the N9 will be the only and last true linux device :(

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Agree with all of your assessment, except that RIM is too entrenched to die within a year or two. Their death throes will last many years, <joke>unless they get a helping hand because Elop fancies a move back to Ontario sometime in the future.</joke>

...and while I'm not Canadian, I'm still embarrassed that my home province produced him. Trojan? Nincompoop? Misunderstood genius? Doesn't matter - what's done is done.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

I am sure HP just got a bigdeal with Microsoft to run theyr new windows suck tablet OS on theyr hw.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

I read it that HP is spinning off their PC business. In this case an HP tablet does not make much sense, neither does a HP branded smart phone.

It is telling that the largest manufacturer of PCs and LapTops exits or sells the business. The future owners will define their mobile strategy. Who will it be? Lenovo? Asus? Huawei?

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Now that would resolve Nokia's problems in a minute. Nokia back in business and RIM dead immediately.

Who chimes in to buy a one way ticket for Elop from Finland to Canada? I'm in for $100!

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

I'm definitely with cBeam here. This must be good news for Meego and also for Nokia. Now when will we see a Nokia Meego Tablet? :D

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Like IBM, HP has seen the light: for a US company of their size and scope, hardware margins are too small and heading rapidly for zero. In the end, services make the real money.

I'm still shocked that they even bought Palm at all. Maybe there are some really sharp, hard lines between divisions (that are now coming down)...

EDIT: added "US" qualifier

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Didn't they by Palm before Apotheker?

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

I'd have to look that up. Too lazy right now. :p

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Keep in mind this is only their WebOS and PC business, their servers (blade and standard 1u/2u/etc) are still doing well...

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

does anyone know more about this SW company they purchased? Was it really worth trading it for PalmOS???

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

And, interestingly, Ari Jaaksi just tweeted that WebOS work continues (but for how long?)...

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Unfortunately, even though it practically eliminates a direct competitor, it's probably bad. May scare off potential MeeGo investors because it demonstrates how tough and what a serious an investment it takes to compete against the established Big Boys.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

First thought, like others here, went to Ari.
My second thought was, on the back of the Google-Motorola Deal, this announcement could provide a cheap and easy path to a highy developed, enterprise ready smartphone platform for a willing handset manufacturer that wants their own OS (that has a cult following not unlike the N900), and given that hardware/build quality was an issue for previous Palm devices, this may be a good thing.

The demise of WebOS, even in the short term, may drag Meego even further into consideration as a viable alternative, however given the impact "analysts" have on the industry these days, it could also represent as a sign that linux based platforms aren't viable (and I don't consider the crippled, hacked, closed, non upstream patch delivering Android as a Linux platform)

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

I just wonder if anybody will be surprised if this happens to MeeGo Harmattan?

The last 7 weeks have been hell for HP and the TouchPad. I took full advantage of buying one for $299, even somehow got the original $50 off, so a tablet that was once $499, I got it for $249 alongside 50gb of space via Box.net - supposedly for the life of the tablet (we'll see).

But as it stands, HP might still license WebOS. Whereas Nokia has no intention whatsoever to release any of the Harmattan UI code - it's closed source and zero mention of licensing. Nor does it seem like they're willing to commit to MeeGo despite being the only confirmed handset developer.

So could this happen to Nokia's MeeGo endeavors? Yep. If more announcements beside OEM announcements don't come out from Intel, hell, they might shutter the MeeGo from a public facing, Linux Foundation backed OS to a more embedded, OEM friendly OS instead that still has Intel's backing.

Nokia's announcement of the N9 and subsequent announcements about where it will (and ultimately will not be directly) shipping has caused Intel a bit of grief, I'm willing to bet.

Oh well. Funny part? WebOS on a tablet is how it should have been. Great multi-tasking, a browser that defaulted to desktop, a rather update SDK and free-to-join dev program that was not so exclusive that you felt like you were going to get left out and a device that actually shipped.

Can't say the same about MeeGo for this dev at the moment. No N950, no N9, Aegis looks to be a hindrance and Elop at the helm seems hellbent in making this fail and no other handset has come forward with MeeGo on it.

Hmm.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

This reminds me of that tweet that appeared on elopcalypse saying that "don't worry, Meego work is to be continued by Intel". Yes....

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

I actually agree with your post. Yesterday, I'd say that webOS had more chances of survival than Meego handset. I had widely regarded it as a backup platform; a rescue boat to jump instantly the day this ship sank. And with the news about N9 availability I had already really started considering the possibility of this ship sinking.

However, today my rescue boat sank. I'm even in a worse mood than the day the Elopcalypse happened. webOS had more market share and a CEO that wasn't outright a Microsoft sold-out.


And btw, Aegis is _really_ a hindrance. The webOS equivalent is much, much more lighter. As I once tweeted, during the early days it was easier to run a Ubuntu chroot under webOS than under Meego.
Thanks to the recent acquired ability to disable Aegis this has fortunately changed though.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Already happened in February. Meego has been small internal science project ever since.

I just wonder if same happens to WebOS or will somebody license it from HP?

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

i like webOS but like all other manufacturers when it comes to hardware they never as good as our nokias, if there was a webOS for n900 i most likely would be using it

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

HP is going for enterprise SW and services. Autonomy is a well regarded competitor in the Business Intelligence space for enterprises. Autonomy has nothing to do with PalmOS, there is no trade, just a strategic shift.

However, $ 10.2 Billion is a very steep price for Autonomy IMHO. But this is a different discussion, has nothing to do with Maemo, Meego or PalmOS.

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

You've summed up my sentiment exactly. $#!^% :-(

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

Would be nice if all the Meego, webOS and Linux fans would buy some Chinese hardware company and release our own OS, free of commercial pressures and MS infiltrators :D

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

in fact this can benefict MeeGo in the way that WebOS developers turn into to Meego as the only linux option, so the maemo comunity grow with the exiled WebOS community, but the problem remais the same there is community but there is no hardware to support it!!

Re: HP says bye bye to WEebOS hardware
 

Amen, brother. Like you're reading my mind

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

Of course, the dumping of WebOS is what's making all the news, but there are interesting ramifications for the hardware side as well.

One might assume that, based on this decision, HP will shelve their ongoing legal stoush with Oracle over the itanium/d-base issue?

Given that Oracle and Intel have lost no love over the above matter, and Intel are still eager to push into the tablet and mobile sector, WebOS, at least might be a good option for them to buy if only for the UI compenents that could be rewritten for x86 on Meego.....

that could give them leverage by offering a turn key Os and Chip solution to hardware vendors like LG, Samsung and HTC

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

It's funny, Google paid $12.5B for Motorola...yet NOKIA cannot even spend a mere 10% of it to secure its future.

Had Nokia bought Palm for $1.2B, it would've fused WebOS into MeeGo and probably start selling in time for last years Xmas. That would mean it would've one-up Microsoft for developers and potentially become the third largest OS.

It would've also meant protection from Apple and Microsoft, as the combined patent portfolio would've been large enough to prevent any lawsuits.

And even more importantly, it would've given Nokia the chance to finally enter the Nth American market.

So the $1.2B price would've given them a $2+B investment.
Now Nokia is drowning in its own demise, probably has dropped below $1.2B in value. Guess you have to spend money to make money.

Just think for a second;
Nokia's leading hardware + dualcore + Linux + Qt apps + WebOS UX = glory!

And just for bonus points, Nokia's logo "Connecting People" has a Palm in it!

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

Nokia didn't need to buy Palm or WebOS, they had their own Qt stack which if not superior was at least equivalent. They did rip off UI ideas like "swipe" from WebOS anyway, and what is QML if not an attempt to appeal to the same (webby background) developer crowd?

Considering how long it took HP, or how long it took Nokia to get plain Harmattan out (ie, with neither company having to do the integration), fat chance.

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

like the good old japanese in the movie "letters from Iwo Jima" each big company has killed itself in the so called developed world.... looks like the next decade will now truly belong to asian manufacturers (sharing seats with apple and google of course)

what a shameful suicide!

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

sad thing for consumers in general is that "If there's a notch on the technology timeline demarcating the PC and post-PC eras, we might have just crossed it."

truly sad, as this heralds that we the consumer are moving more and more from a productivity based PC culture to a media consuming lazy bum culture,

Re: HP says bye bye to webOS hardware
 

On the smartphone/tablet side, it is a sad day for consumers in general too, as with fewer options, this gives Apple, and Goog-orola a greater pricing advantage....

not to mention lesser innovation