HP, the company that released their TouchPad tablet last year only to K-Line it a month later, had declared that they’re getting back into the tablet business, only with a twist: Instead of using the WebOS, which was the brains of the original TouchPad, they’ll be going with Windows 8 this time around. According to chief executive Meg Whitman, the move will be “capitalising on the extraordinary growth in tablet sales” (DaringFireball poses the question: “Extraordinary growth in tablet sales, or extraordinary growth in iPad sales?”). There’s no word on whether or not the newly reborn tablet division will dig out old TouchPads or if it’ll be a brand new product, but the exclusion of WebOS makes it seem as though little remains of the HP purchase of Palm, which occurred a few years back. It’s a shame, too; WebOS was lauded as one of the few mobile operating systems with UI and speed advantages over iOS.
HP also let it be known that they’re merging its PC and printer businesses among Southeast Asian’s operating units within the next three months. Whitman says the merger will improve HP’s efficiency through centralized sales and marketing teams and by unifying the product line.
Source: Chicago Tribune
Via: Daring Fireball
