webOS is dead! Long live webOS!

Finally we have the answer and it's not the one I was expecting. Today Meg Whitman announced that HP will make webOS (the ill fated mobile operating system they bought from Palm) open source!

Everyone (including me) had predicted HP would either sell webOS or keep it. Instead they have gone down a middle road, making it free for the community to use (open source), while still retaining the all important patents.

In theory this decision sounds great, because the community has always been the most passionate advocate of webOS, but this won't help unless someone is willing to make the hardware. Therefore to ensure webOS does not slowly fade into the background we need a company such as HTC, Samsung or Sony to build a webOS device. Something that the community can then rally behind.

I think if this was two years ago, all of the major hardware manufacturers would have built a device, but with Google Android (also Open Source) and Microsoft Windows Phone openly available, I'm worried it's too little, too late (just look at MeeGo).

As stated in my previous webOS article, I would love to see Sony build a webOS device (as they are not heavily aligned to Google or Microsoft), but this strategy would still come at a risk, as it is unclear how much traction a device running webOS would achieve. Therefore I think all the Palm and webOS fanboys need to cross their fingers that at least one company has the courage and vision to give it a try!

What's left for webOS?

webOS is a great mobile operating system! In fact some would argue it's the best mobile operating system available (yes, even when compared against iOS and Android). If you don't believe me, just check out these glowing reviews:

"webOS 2.0 is probably neck and neck with iOS4 when it comes to polish and ease of use, and that's a pretty huge thing for Palm." - Engadget

"webOS was always an impressively slick operating system and it remains ahead of most of the competition in terms of sheer enjoyment to use. This is now also backed up by rapid performance and a wealth of features that again puts it at least on par with the rest." - Trusted Reviews

"webOS 2.0 still has an edge on the competition in certain categories with the advantages it had at launch: best of breed smartphone multitasking, unobtrusive notifications that can let you act on (or ignore) alerts without leaving your current app, convenient management of WiFi and Bluetooth, deeply-integrated web standards, easy development" - PreCentral

Unfortunately this was before HP and before webOS development came crashing to a halt. As a result, instead of writing about how webOS is a serious threat to Apple and Google, we're actually facing the final curtain call, with HP expected to announce the future of webOS within the next couple of weeks. Will they decided to keep it and if so, in what form? or will they cut their loses and sell?

So what will HP decide to do? Honestly, I don't think anyone knows. Although HP are still a technology superpower, they are currently facing an identity crisis regarding their future. These challenges are so big that we have seen them go through leadership at an alarming rate, with new CEO Meg Whitman attempting to steer the ship back on course. In fact only a few weeks ago Whitman held an all staff meeting to outline their plan for webOS, stating -

"It's really important to me to make the right decision, not the fast decision," and that "If HP decides to do this [to keep webOS], we're going to do it in a very significant way over a multi year period."

Although it's great to hear Whitman addressing the webOS issue, her response is far from conclusive. The only positive is that if HP decide to retain webOS then it sounds like they will be willing to invest in its future. This in itself is a bold statement as HP have already reportedly lost over $3.3billion through the Palm acquisition.

So if HP decided to sell webOS, who would actually buy it? A couple of years ago when Palm first went on sale I personally felt it was a great opportunity for someone like Sony, HTC or Cisco to get a serious head start in the mobile operating system market (which every industry analyst is predicting to be massive in the future). Unfortunately I don't think the story is as compelling as it once was, as due to the uncertainty that has surrounded webOS for the past year, the ongoing development has fallen seriously behind. For example, webOS could easily compete against iOS 4.0 and Android 3.0, but both Apple and Google have now released major revisions with some significant new features. Therefore anyone that buys webOS at this point will immediately be playing catch-up against some very strong competition.

The other option is that HP could give webOS to the community, in the form of an Open Source project. This would be great, as anyone could then build webOS devices (just like Google Android). Unfortunately this scenario seems unlikely, but with the recent leadership changes maybe we will see a new HP, more willing to take risks and embrace open source (let's hope so!).

What do I think will happen? If I was a betting man, I would put my money on HP keeping webOS. Personally I think they have already invested too much money to sell (or give away) at this point. However, this does not necessarily mean we will see new mobile devices. Instead I believe HP may look to integrate the best parts of webOS (such as the user interface and touch technology) into their existing products, like printers and scanners. 

My dream scenario (although there is almost no chance of this happening) is for Sony to buy webOS from HP. Yes, I realise that sounds mad, but hear me out...

Sony are currently a little lost in the mobile space, they recently bought the rest of Ericsson so they have the hardware capabilities, but they don't have a decent operating system. They can use Android or maybe even Windows Phone, but both Google and Microsoft have already created strategic partnerships with other hardware vendors. Therefore Sony run the risk of becoming a second rate manufacturer, which is not the way to win the war! Now, just imagine Sony hardware (like they used to design) combined with the elegance of webOS! This could be a great device, potentially even rivaling the iPhone in terms of hardware and software integration.

Ok, I'll stop dreaming at this point and face the reality that in the next two weeks we will likely hear HP announce the end of webOS as we know it. At which point it will be down to the fanboys and homebrew community to show the world what could have been. I already have my Palm Pre 2 ready!

HP Kills webOS Devices

Just over one year ago HP annouced they would be acquiring Palm. This left me with mixed emotions as I was a big fan of Palm and their products, but I could also see that they were in desperate need of financial backing if their new mobile platform "webOS" was ever going to be successful.

With the IT giant HP behind them I thought this could be a new chapter for Palm, allowing them to focus on what they do best, the product, and let HP deal with the commercials. This initially looked good, with HP annoucing in February the Veer, Pre 3 and TouchPad tablet, all running webOS.

Unfortunately, yesterday in the HP earnings call there was a shock announcement that HP plans to cease making all webOS devices by Q4 2011! This is especially amazing as the TouchPad has only been on the market a few months, and the Pre 3 hasn't even been released yet.

Frankly I look at this as a disaster of "Kin" proportions. For HP to drive a strategy to release three new products, only to kill them all just months later, makes very little sense. I appreciate the sales numbers for the TouchPad were poor, but with the lackluster launch from HP I hardly look at this as a surprise, simply put, I don't believe any of these products ever stood a chance.

So what does this mean for Palm and webOS? Well I think it is clear that HP have decided that mobile hardware is not their game. Instead it would appear that they plan to licence webOS to other hardware manufactures (similar to Google and Microsoft). Therefore webOS may still live to see anther day, but in what shape or form is now completely unknown. My one hope is that HP have already got a plan to partner with someone like HTC, Sony Ericsson or Samsung to develop webOS devices. If this partnership is not in place then I think webOS runs the risk of becoming obsolete, which considering it is widely accepted by the industry as one of the best mobile platforms, would be a real disappointment.

I guess for now, all we can do is watch this space...

Update on Friday, August 19, 2011 at 8:11AM by Matt (LifeinTECH)

Unsurprisingly, over the past few hours there has been a lot of noise over the HP decision to cease production of webOS devices. "This is my next" have done a great job of collating and analysing the information:

HP kills TouchPad and webOS phones, looks to unload PC business

HP: "We are not walking away from webOS"; exclusive details from inside

Why HP killed its webOS devices

HP failed webOS; what's next for the platform?

I'll post more as soon as the information becomes available.

HP (Palm) webOS

I've been a long time fan of Palm's webOS mobile operating system and although it had a rocky start to life, I've always believed it has the potential to be a major player in the market.

It's always been clear that Palm have some amazing software engineers working on webOS (just look at their implementation of multi-tasking), but the trouble has always been finding the right balance between their great software and the hardware (something Apple are experts at). Don't get me wrong, I think the Palm Pre was a good phone, but unfortunately it was seriously under-powered and dated when compared to the competition.

The other big issue for Palm was their global reach and branding, as they simply didn't have the right resources to get the big carriers (or customers) excited about their products. For example, in the UK only O2 carried the Palm Pre, but actually dropped it from their product range due to poor sales.

Thankfully, back in April, everything changed with the annoucement that Palm had been aquired by HP. This was an exciting prospect, as HP could bring to Palm the things they were desperately missing. For example, HP have deep pockets and a wealth of hardware experience. They also have the right resources in place to market and sell products on a global scale to both the consumer and businesses. This means that Palm can focus on what they do best, creating amazing software, and leverage HP to pull together the whole package.

Today, we got to see the first HP/Palm devices and a significant reboot of the company's webOS-based mobile strategy. At the event, HP announced three new mobile devices all running webOS. The first two were new smartphones, replacing the Palm Pixi and Palm Pre 2. They are known as the HP Veer, which offers a credit-card sized form factor with a slide-out keyboard, and the HP Pre 3, the next-generation version of Palm's debut webOS device. HP also unveiled the highly anticipated HP TouchPad, which is a WebOS driven 9.7-inch tablet. The image below shows the three devices:

All three devices were demonstrated at the event and they look great. They even showed a few examples of how these devices can be used together, using the next generation TouchStone, that enables wireless charging and wireless sharing of data between the different devices. The sharing feature was especially cool, allowing you to answer calls and respond to txt messages on your TouchPad, routing the traffic through your HP smartphone. The full specification of the three devices can be seen below: 

HP have also released a number of promotional videos highlighting some of the new features. The first video shows all three devices:

The next video shows the HP Pre 3:

Finally, the HP TouchPad. Could this be the iPad killer?

Overall I was impressed with the HP/webOS launch event and with webOS finally getting the hardware it deserves, I hope this could be the start of something special. Another tip-bit from the event was that HP hinted that webOS would also be available for the desktop. Could this be as a Windows competitor? They didn't provide any additional details, so I guess we'll have to wait and see.

For more information (including hands-on videos) I suggest you head over to Engadget and PreCentral.

D: Dive into Mobile

D: Dive Into Mobile is an extension of the popular D: All Things Digital conference, founded by Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher. The conference was held between 6th and 7th December and is focused on mobile devices, giving us a rare insight into the industry from the key players.

I've added what I consider to be the most interesting videos from Google, Microsoft, RIM and Palm. There are lots of great conversations and even some new gadgets shown off. The only downside is that you have to put up with Walt and Kara.

First up, Google's Andy Rubin talks about Android, Nexus and Google's future plans for mobile.

Joe Belfiore, one of Microsoft VPs and the main spokesperson for Windows Phone 7 talks about the company's smartphone effort, the legacy of Windows Mobile and Microsoft's vision of the future.

RIM CEO Mike Lazaridis talks about the future of smartphones, shows off the PlayBook (RIM's new tablet), and explains why he thinks the BlackBerry's can succeed against the iPhone and Android.

Finally, Jon Rubinstein talks about Palm's chances against Apple, Google, Microsoft and RIM.

For more information on D: Dive into Mobile head over to their highlights page.