Hasta La Gadget!

We’re still trying to wrap our heads around yesterday’s sounding of what will most likely be the death knell for webOS. The fine folks over at The Next Web have offered some insight, and it seems that hardware was the problem. It’s no secret that the TouchPad was released with a single-core chip in an age of dual-core tablets and super phones. As we noted in our review, the device simply couldn’t keep up with the competition. According to TNW’s sources, developers actually managed to port webOS over to the iPad 2 for testing purposes, and it ran “over twice as fast.” It’s not terribly surprising that Apple’s dual-core A5 chip was able to outpace the single 1.2GHz core found inside the TouchPad, but It may seem strange that the 1.2GHz chip inside the TouchPad was so easily outclassed by the slower clocked A5, but Apple’s chip is sporting faster Cortex-A9 architecture, while HP relied on Qualcomm’s slower A8-based Snapdragon. It seems that the hardware constraints were ultimately what did in the Linux-based mobile OS.

Update: This article incorrectly stated that the TouchPad shipped with a single-core processor. It was in fact a dual-core Snapdragon APQ8060.

Was webOS tested on an iPad, HP done in by its slower hardware? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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And just like that, Palm’s baby was abandoned. Among the “other announcements” in today’s press release about the potential spinoff of its entire Personal Systems group (PCs, mobile devices, storage) is a note that the webOS ecosystem HP snagged for $1.2 billion a year ago is already being ditched.

“In addition, HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.“

Among slightly lowered estimates for its 2011 revenue, HP confirms it’s in talks with Autonomy Corporation plc about a “possible offer” for the company. It’s clear that a separation of HP the services / software company and HP the hardware manufacturer leaves no room in the lifeboat for the Pre and TouchPad family, but what happens next? We’re sure there will be more pointed questions about what “optimizing the value of webOS software going forward” means — we vote for a quickie sale to one of Google’s disgruntled hardware partners or better yet, opening it up for some community hackery — on the conference call scheduled for 5 p.m. Eastern.

Update: HP CEO Leo Apotheker confirmed on the company’s earnings call late this afternoon that the Autonomy acquisition is considerably further along than just a “possible offer,” and that it’s expected to be completed by the end of 2011. He also made it clear that any possible spin-off of the PC business won’t happen soon, and said that the company will take 12 to 18 months to consider its options, further adding that he is “taking ownership” of all of these decisions. As for webOS, Apotheker expectedly offered few specifics, but suggested that just about all options, including licensing, remain on the table.

Timeline:

• 4.28.10 – HP buys Palm
• 4.28.10 – HP: ‘We’re doubling down on webOS,’ Palm: ‘That was the whole point’
• 7.1.10 – HP / Palm buyout officially complete — get ready for webOS printers
• 2.9.11 – RIP, Palm: 1992 – 2011
• 2.9.11 – HP’s 9.7-inch TouchPad: webOS 3.0 tablet with 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon, coming this summer
• 2.9.11 – HP Pre 3: 1.4GHz Qualcomm CPU, 3.6-inch WVGA, coming this summer (video)
• 3.9.11 – WebOS will be on ‘every HP PC’ shipping next year, says CEO
• 6.29.11 – HP confirms it’s in talks about licensing webOS, Samsung tipped as a possibility
• 7.11.11 – HP’s Stephen DeWitt to lead webOS global business unit, Jon Rubinstein stepping aside
• 8.18.11 – HP unveils 64GB TouchPad, spurns America (and freedom)

Continue reading HP will ‘discontinue operations for webOS devices’, may spin off Personal Systems Group

HP will ‘discontinue operations for webOS devices’, may spin off Personal Systems Group originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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HP Touchstone Audio Dock passes FCC on the way to anonymous launch originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:32:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Steve Jobs went in front of the of the Cupertino city council back in June with a proposal that would allow Apple to expand its campus by building a new one that would hold 12,000 employees. The 150 acres of land previously belonged to Hewlett-Packard, which Apple bought from the company when it started to […]

Looks like those skinny Ultrabooks Intel was trying to sell us on at Computex will all be hitting the market at roughly the same time. Despite earlier suggestions that HP would beat ASUS’s planned September launch, DigiTimes reports the Palo Alto company’s Air competitor may not actually ship until as late as Q1 of 2012, thanks to LCD supply issues. Those problems scoring enough panels are also holding up similar systems from Acer and Dell. To make matters worse, it seems those promised sub $1,000 price points were a bit optimistic. ASUS told the Taipei Times that its UX line would only be able to hit such a price using slower Core i3 chips — upgrading to a Core i5 and sticking in an SSD would push the price towards the $2,000 mark.

[Thanks, Marco]

Ultrabooks to start arriving in September, more expensive than expected originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:54:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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