If you can’t beat them, join them. HP is to bring out devices based on the Android operating system, just months after making its webOS operating system open source following the botched handling of its TouchPad tablet opportunity. A high-end tablet is in the works and may be followed by a smartphone.
According to ReadWriteWeb, the first device will be a high-end tablet computer based on NVIDIA’s Tegra 4 chip.
HP acquired Palm for US$1.2bn in 2009 but despite launching a range of Pre smartphones and TouchPad tablet computers based on webOS in 2011, the strategy was shelved.
HP decided to make webOS open source and in a final humiliation for a once-great OS it sold the Enyo HTML 5 integration team to Google last May.
Now HP is trying to catch up with the rest of the tech industry, especially players like Apple and Samsung that at present own the mobile computing ecosystem.
HP has two choices: it could get into the fast-growing Windows Phone camp (don’t forget it has just unleashed a range of mobile PCs based on Windows 8) or it could make smartphones based on Google’s Android operating systems.
According to reports overnight, HP has decided to go with Android’s operating system.
The first device is expected to be a high-end Android tablet computer powered by an NVIDIA Tegra 4 chip.
According to ReadWriteWeb, the tablet is expected to launch in the second quarter of this year and an Android-powered smartphone may also be in the works.
The move follows a partnership with Google to release Chrome-powered notebooks.
