HP to decide future of webOS within next two weeks, claims CEO Whitman
To sell or not to sell
HP's webOS has been circling the drain for a while now, but the firm's final decision as to whether to consider to support the OS or sell it off will take a further two weeks, according to CEO Meg Whitman.
In an interview with French magazine Le Figaro, Whitman revealed that HP "needs to have another operating system".
Chatter suggests, for TouchPad at least, said OS could well be Windows 8.
However, Microsoft's platform isn't due to hit tablets until next spring, which might explain Whitman's recluctance to make a final decision.
Betting ends
Either way, the news is just the latest chapter in webOS's chequered history.
The platform's future was due to be determined during a meeting back in October, but Whitman eventually held off officially consigning the OS to history despite statements to the effect during HP's most recent earnings report.
Speculation has also suggested Samsung, HTC and, latterly, Amazon have been interested in a purchase, though it's believed any deal could rest on a clause allowing HP to license back the technology for use in its printers.
Indeed, some have suggested the decision to can webOS's flagship TouchPad in the first place was a mistake, to which Whitman claimed any move to re-instigate support for the platform would be carried out in a "very significant way over a multi-year period".
"It's a very expensive proposition, but HP can make that bet," she concluded.
[source: The Verge]
