HP’s dumping of my favorite mobile operating system may have been over a year ago, but I’m still getting over it. Pitiful, yes, but that’s part of what makes me who I am. I’ve gotten better though. I managed to resist writing an article about the release of the code for Open webOS earlier this month, especially as I’ve nothing to run it on. The Nokia Lumia 920 and iPhone 5 have me strongly reconsidering my waving “my next phone will be Android” mentality, and I’m genuinely techcited about the chance to run Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).
Then, HP’s CEO gets on Fox Business and drops this little bomb.
In case you didn’t catch that, let me highlight the mind-altering statement by Whitman:
“We have to ultimately offer a smartphone because in many countries of the world that would be your first computing device…we are a computing company.”
You’re joking, yes? You had a smartphone, Whitman. Not the most popular smartphone, but one with a ton of mindshare. You’re not the CEO who idiotically shut it down, but you could at least have acknowledged that you once had a foot in the door. It’s nice of HP to finally notice that its cutting itself out of a massive market segment.
Whitman dismissed any interest in purchasing or licensing RIM, which I suppose seemed like an intelligent thing to ask about due to HP’s business focus. I’ve seen a few sites suggest that it’s more likely that HP will partner with Microsoft on a Windows Phone 8 device than for it to resurrect webOS. I have to depressingly agree with that speculation. HP absolutely has the option to avoid licensing fees for a mobile OS and take advantage of Open webOS. However, with the webOS team spun off as the miniscule and seemingly directionless Gram, it may be worth investing in the use of another mobile operating system that actually has a long-term game plan. Additionally, because Windows Phone 8 is a known quantity, HP doesn’t have to do as much marketing or consumer education. It’s a lower risk. Additionally, with Whitman’s comment about a smartphone being a user’s first computing device, it makes sense to have an upgrade path from the phone to the computer, which would of course be running Windows 8.
I could be wrong on this. Whitman is a strong leader who may be willing to play a long game. Frankly, had she been in charge when HP first bought Palm, I don’t think the computer manufacturer would have ended up losing $3.3 billion on that little “detour” (as Whitman graciously calls it in the interview with Fox Business). Conceivably, HP might be willing to invest time and (yet more) money into developing a strong hardware platform for Open webOS as well as put a serious investment into testing and marketing (two areas where Palm absolutely crewed the pooch). Heck, HP could even pursue an Open webOS solution while at the same time using Windows Phone 8.
This brings to mind a third option: Android.
While Google’s OS is not as business oriented as HP might like and doesn’t offer a clear upgrade path to a similar desktop OS, it’s certainly nice and open source (translation, free). HP made it a point to shift Open webOS over from a custom Linux kernel to the standard Android kernel, so one can assume that the company has developers in house who know how to work with Android. Indeed, it’s easy to imagine an HP Android distribution that uses webOS as a skin and allows access to HP’s Synergy servers, one of the best features of webOS.
This is all spitballing on my part, and it’s likely completely and utterly wrong. Considering the rate at which HP has goes through CEOs lately, Whitman could be gone before this is more than a soundbite. I’m not going to lie to you though, it has me strongly considering not changing anything until I know what HP is doing. I’ve put enough time and effort into webOS that even a chance of a new webOS phone is something I’m willing to wait for.
Just a little bit longer.
Don’t judge me.
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