hewlett-packard

Android duels with Windows 8 on Samsung hybrid

Windows 8 and Jelly Bean make on odd couple. But Windows may be the odder of the two in an increasingly mobile world.

Samsung on Thursday announced the Ativ Q laptop-tablet hybrid running both Windows 8 and Android.

While it appears to be a Windows 8 laptop first and Android device second, the fact that Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) is only a tap away signals that Samsung believes consumers need a pathway out of Windows to a more mobile-centric world.

Not unlike what Hewlett-Packard has done with SlateBook x2 laptop hybrid. Though in HP's case it's an … Read more

HP shifts PC chief to China, global focus

Hewlett-Packard said Tuesday that Todd Bradley will step down as head of the company's PC and printing unit to focus on growing the company's footprint in China, partnerships and the channel.

Bradley's new title will be executive vice president of strategic growth initiatives. The move is interesting since Bradley was supposed to meld printing and PCs and find synergies between the two businesses. Both product lines are challenged by slower growth going forward and the PC business has to reinvent to focus on mobility. In HP's second-quarter results in May, personal systems sales were down 20 … Read more

Google creeps up on Microsoft at HP: Now office apps

Hewlett-Packard is now a Google Apps reseller, as it continues to lean more on Google-related products and tries to make itself more relevant in the age of the mobile device.

Those mobile devices now include the Google-software-based HP SlateBook x2, HP Chromebook, and HP Slate 7.

Now add HP SMP IT in a Box to that mix, which HP defines it as its "entry into the Google Apps Reseller program."

The program will "leverage" HP hardware, including PCs and printers, with Google Apps for Business.

"More than 5 million businesses currently run on Google Apps … Read more

Dire warnings for PCs, Windows 8 -- this time from Citi

Citi Research is revising its forecast for negative PC growth as it paints a dark picture of the incredible shrinking PC market.

Citi is cutting 2013 PC year-to-year growth to negative 10 percent from negative 4 percent growth, according to a note to investors late Friday.

"The Citi global technology team is revising down its 2013 PC growth estimate to -10% y/y (from -4%) based on further sub-seasonal demand" in the first quarter and slowing notebook production.

In a section titled "Y/Y Growth in 2H? Don't Think So," Citi says that despite investor … Read more

Ex-HP boss Ray Lane reportedly in $100 million spat with IRS

The last six months haven't been kind to Ray Lane.

According to a Bloomberg report, the former chairman of Hewlett-Packard has been fending off an IRS case putting him on the hook for a $100 million in taxes, all while he was trying to steer HP through snafus that culminated in his departure from the board.

Tax-court documents show the IRS in December found that Lane improperly used his partnership, Vanadium Partners Fund LLC, to claim $251 million in losses to offset income. Lane has appealed, disputing the agency's claim that his fund lacked legitimate business purpose.

Lane, … Read more

The ugly truth: Apple vs. PC design

Walk into any Best Buy and you're hit with an ugly truth: PCs aren't pretty.

A 15-inch HP Windows 8 laptop that sells for $270 (Best Buy's "Deal of the Day" on Saturday) isn't meant to be pretty. It's meant to be practical.

But a $330 iPad Mini is also very practical for a lot of people. And pretty too (consumers and reviewers seem to think so). Pretty and practical are two reasons Apple can sell tens of millions of Minis.

Why bring this up? I was struck by a statement from an … Read more

HP's Q2 revenue slips, but Whitman looks ahead

Leading up to Hewlett-Packard's second-quarter earnings report after the bell on Wednesday, analysts were expecting a mixed bag.

They got one.

The tech giant reported earnings of $1.1 billion, or 55 cents per share. Non-GAAP earnings were 87 cents per share on a revenue of $27.6 billion.

Wall Street was expecting earnings of 81 cents a share on revenue of $28 billion for the second quarter.

Out of the six core segments highlighted in the second quarter report, only the software group posted a positive revenue mark as the support team was up by 12 percent annually. … Read more

Leap Motion shows off Windows compatibility

Windows users, rejoice! Leap Motion is coming to a PC near you, and for the first time, you can see what it will be like.

Today, Leap Motion released a video showing what its 3D gesture-control system will be like on a Windows computer. That's important, given that it has struck partnerships with Asus and Hewlett-Packard.

With Leap and Windows, the company said in a blog post, "You'll be able to browse the Web and interact with your computer just by moving your hands and fingers in the air. With Leap Motion technology and Windows, you can … Read more

Android has become a hedge against Microsoft and Windows

Hewlett-Packard rolled out another Android device this week. This could become a pattern as PC makers hedge against a world that's less about Microsoft and more about Google.

On Tuesday, the largest PC maker in the world -- a dubious distinction these days -- added a laptop-tablet hybrid to its growing stable of products based on Google operating systems.

The $479 HP SlateBook x2 is an Android first for HP. It's "powered by Android, the world's most popular mobile operating system...100 percent tablet, 100 percent notebook, 100 percent Android," according to the company's … Read more