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Will an HP WebOS License Deal Matter

Posted by rsmiller on · 6 comments
Tech Target View From Above; By Ron Miller
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HP is planning to license WebOS making it available to rival manufacturers. While this will expand the WebOS developer pool, it could also cannibalize HP hardware sales leaving HP in a difficult position.

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Comments (6)

Not that I have any qualifications for having an opinion on the subject, but it occurs to me...

Now that Nokia has metaphorically tossed Meego into an obscure closet in the basement, HP might be thinking that this is WebOS's big chance to supplant Meego as a better alternative to Android, and actually make concrete gains in that space.

I'd be interested to see how many times MS sues them for patent violations...
HP has a nice handful of patents of its own. It would be interesting if M$ were to loose printer support.
I really, really, really (hey did I say really? Perhaps I should mention "really"!) hope Samsung will be in on WebOS.

Why does it matter:

1) Apart from IBM, they're the one and only company who has more US-patents than Microsoft, so Microsoft will probably not threaten them,

2) They make really nice hardware. I own a Galaxy S II since a week, and the only downside of the device is it comes with Android,

3) Perhaps it would show Google there are customers not willing to eat all crap found in their licenses, like Google Maps, Angry Birds (for Android), the Facebook app and so on. Reading some of the licenses, I really regret having bought an Android-phone, and I outright refused installing the free version of AngryBirds after reading the license.
@ hkwint

It's not the size of their parent portfolio that would scare M$, but the size (in dollars) of any warchest they have to fight about them.
Quoting:I really, really, really (hey did I say really? Perhaps I should mention "really"!) hope Samsung will be in on WebOS.


I really, really, really, really (hey did I say really? Perhaps I should mention "really", very very much really!) hope Samsung will take an interest in Meego.

That's probably not much more likely than Elop getting tossed out of Nokia and his replacement announcing that the N9 is only the first in a bold new play to, you know, like, take a really promising product and really run with it...

But if any of the big CE companies were to try something like that, Samsung could be the one -- and I would just love to see a real FOSS consumer electronics OS other than Android.

That dream will probably sustain me for a while -- at least until my extra-long (Canada Day & US Independence Day) holiday weekend beer supply runs out...

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