There was a palpable sense of shock when HP announced a while back that it was thinking of quitting the PC business, at least in terms of hardware. HP is one of the original computer companies (along with Apple, Compaq and IBM). When the CEO recently announced they were killing off their tablet device, the TouchPad it caused everyone to ask what was going on at HP. The TouchPad was powered by WebOS which some considered a strong rival to Apple’s iOS.
The decision to abandon the PC business was one that was announced back in August by former chief executive Léo Apotheker, but current chief executive Meg Whitman has now stated that, after reviewing the possible impact, HP has reversed the decision. Apotheker was removed from the company shortly after his original announcement meaning he lasted less than a year as CEO of the company.
Many in the industry will be relieved at the news, not least those who do not want to see Apple come to dominate the industry completely. HP is well respected for its servers in particular and whilst there has been all this uncertainty surrounding its future the likes of Dell and Lenovo have been taking advantage.
As for the future of WebOS, nothing was mentioned so its future remains uncertain. Samsung has apparently expressed interest n purchasing it from HP but that seems to have gone nowhere, at least publicly.
About Me
With over 20 years experience in the health & social care, charity and voluntary sector I have a broad experience of the challenges facing organisations. I am familiar with both PC and Mac environments and experienced at developing web sites on Wordpress and Joomla platforms.
As the Official UK partner of hField Technologies, we distribute the highly regarded Wi-Fire usb wireless adapter. We are also Premier Partners of Synaxon, Europe's largest distributor network of IT products.