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HP Gives webOS Platform To Open-Source Community By Mark Long December 9, 2011 4:47PM     Hewlett-Packard said the open-source community would obtain access to the underlying code for webOS under an open-source license. The goal is to enable developers, partners, and other hardware manufacturers to commercially release ongoing webOS enhancements as well as new platform versions of webOS.   Related Topics Hewlett-Packard webOS TouchPad Palm Open Source Latest News iPhone Takes a Hit in Satisfaction Dell Kills Its In-House Public Cloud After 360, There Comes the Xbox One A Terabyte's the Limit Now at Flickr Customers Less Satisfied with Win 8 Hewlett-Packard said Friday that the computing hardware giant has decided to contribute its webOS mobile software platform to the open-source community. HP obtained the rights to webOS when the company acquired Palm for $1.2 billion in April 2010. Hewlett-Packard initially had high hopes for webOS as an operating system that it could run side-by-side on the company's next-generation Windows desktop PCs and laptops. Following the departure of CEO Leo Apotheker and the demise of HP's webOS-based media tablet, however, the company has decided that the best way to enable webOS to evolve is to fully engage the resources of the open-source community. "WebOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud -connected and scalable," said HP CEO Meg Whitman on Friday. "By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open-source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices." This is an exit strategy for HP and not a bad one at that, noted Al Hilwa, director of applications software development at IDC. "It throws a bone to the small but passionate community that appears to be interested in evolving webOS," Hilwa said Friday. An Unwinnable Battle Earlier this year, industry observers had expected HP to recoup part of its $1.2 billion investment in Palm by selling the webOS platform to another company. Though some analysts viewed Amazon as a potential webOS buyer, the online retail giant adopted a customized version of Android instead to enable its Kindle Fire tablet customers to access selected apps from Google's Android Market. Hilwa believes that HP ultimately realized that the company could not use webOS to build a top-tier application and content ecosystem that could compete with well entrenched mobile rivals such as Apple and Google. "For mobile devices, iOS and Android have an early lead, with Microsoft and RIM on their heels," Hilwa said. "WebOS has found it difficult to breakthrough as the market matures and coalesces -- drawing clearer battles for developer mindshare down the road." HP said Friday that the open-source community will obtain access to the underlying code for webOS under an open-source license. The goal is to enable developers, partners, and other hardware manufacturers to commercially release ongoing webOS enhancements as well as new platform versions. (continued...) 1  |  2  |  Next Page >   Tell Us What You Think Comment: Name: > Also Visit: iPad Info Center Billions of Bytes Mobile Device Now Apple Info Center TopTechWire.com CommVault is a data and information management software company dedicated to providing organizations worldwide with a radically better way to manage data and information. Their unique Solving Forward philosophy allows them to deliver complete solutions with infinite scalability and unprecedented control over data and costs. Be among the first to experience Simpana 10 software. Click here now.  Business Briefing 1.   Facebook Aims To Be Ad Colossus 2.   Seamless and GrubHub Join Forces 3.   Qualcomm Eyes Smartphone Growth 4.   Mr. Cook, About Those Loopholes . . . 5.   Ready for Xbox: The Next Generation

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Enterprise Hardware Spotlight

Dell Kills Its Public Cloud Effort, Will Offer Partner Marketplace Putting the kibosh on its efforts to build out a public cloud, Dell has announced a new program to offer a choice of cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service through a central marketplace of partners.   Dell's Dismal Quarter Shows PC Maker's Challenges Dell's financial decay worsened during its latest quarter as the company slashed its personal computer prices in response to the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets in the beleaguered industry.   U.S. Defense Department Gives iOS 6 Security OK In a vote of confidence for Apple's iOS devices, the Defense Department has given the all-clear for employees to use iPads and iPhones for work. But only those running iOS 6, and only if issued by the government.

Mobile Enterprise Spotlight

Consumer Satisfaction for iPhone Drops as Rivals Gain Apple's iPhone has taken a favorability hit in the latest American Consumer Satisfaction Index, an annual survey of 70,000 consumers, while Samsung and Motorola put in strong gains.   Qualcomm CEO Eyes Smartphone Growth With more than 6 billion mobile phones on the planet and population growth jumping in many corners of the world, Qualcomm CEO Paul Jacobs is sharing his thoughts on the future of the devices we love.   Teen Shows Battery-Charge Breakthrough at Intel Fair Imagine being able to recharge your phone's battery in just seconds. If an invention recognized in Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair reaches the mass market, it could soon be possible.

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