Era of Windows gone, HP pushes WebOS to market
HP’s recent press conference with Linux on center stage, revealed the details of its mobile device strategy. HP announced two new WebOS phones and more importantly an impressive new tablet that is a clear contender against the iPad. While I don’t for one second underestimate Apple, that was not the most interesting part of the event.
The most interesting part of the event came near the end when HP announced that it is going to ship WebOS not only in phones, tablets and printers, but in PC’s as well. In doing so, the worlds largest PC supplier is indicating that they are going to ship PC’s without Windows. For Microsoft – who was nowhere at this event – that has got to hurt. Perhaps this really IS the year of the Linux desktop.
Considering HP is the world’s biggest PC maker, this could have serious reverberations. HP exec Todd Bradley said, “Do the math on two PCs per second. You easily exceed 100 million devices with WebOS deployed annually. That’s the start of something pretty big.”
For investors and developers alike, this is your canary in the coal mine in case you haven’t been paying attention lately. There are very few things in computing that are not made with Linux these days. Linux is the underpinning technology for nearly every sector of the market in every form of computing and everyone uses it daily without even knowing it. Have you used Google for a web search recently? Purchase anything from Amazon or Ebay? All three use Linux exclusively for business operations, system stability and millions of dollars saved. Lost revenue to Microsoft.
The odds are slim that it actually affects Microsoft, but it just shows how little confidence Microsoft’s traditional partners have in Microsoft these days. Dell is working with Google on Android phones and tablets. And now HP is building its own software.
HP is among a number of leading companies who understand that when consumers expect sophisticated devices and innovation is happening super fast, they can’t go it alone. HP could not have untethered itself from Microsoft and created the devices it revealed today or come to market this fast, if it had started from scratch. And, WebOS would not be what it is today without all of the technologies that is provided with Linux and the myriad of projects that make up a typical Linux platform. All the work that goes into these Linux-based mobile devices helps other solutions succeed.
By using Linux to capture what analysts predict will be a $30B market for tablets by 2012, HP is further validating Linux as the foundation from which next-generation mobile devices will run. Companies are choosing Linux because it supports more architectures and more devices than any other OS and is freely available and is able to be custom-branded. No other OS on the market can deliver on all of this.
HP’s decision to build its next-generation of devices on Linux and WebOS is good for HP, good for other Linux-based OSes, and good for the platform. The more companies who are building on Linux, the stronger the platform becomes. We’re looking forward to bringing HP and other community stakeholders together on future Linux and WebOS innovations.
In dealing with the next generation of software and operating system development, don’t get left behind!
- Change Happens
- They Keep Moving The Cheese
- Anticipate Change
- Get Ready For The Cheese To Move
- Monitor Change
- Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old
- Adapt To Change Quickly
- The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese
- Change
- Move With The Cheese
- Enjoy Change!
- Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!
- Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again
- They Keep Moving The Cheese.
