Samsung chief: We'll 'never' acquire WebOS
Although speculation abounds that Samsung could attempt to acquire, or at least license WebOS, its CEO says it won't happen.
Samsung has no plans to acquire WebOS, the company's CEO Gee-Sung Choi said at the IFA conference in Berlin.
According to Bloomberg, which published his comments today, the executive said that his company will "never" attempt to acquire HP's WebOS operating system, adding that "it's not right that acquiring an operating system is becoming a fashion" nowadays.
Last month, HP made the surprising decision to discontinue its mobile hardware, including the TouchPad tablet, and focus its efforts on software and solutions. It hasn't necessarily turned its back on WebOS, but the platform's future is in doubt at the moment, and licensing or an outright sale have been viewed as the next logical step for HP and its operating system.
Over the last few months, there has been some speculation that Samsung was nearing some kind of deal with HP over WebOS. In June, the talk centered on rumors that the company would license WebOS from HP after CEO Leo Apotheker said that "a number of companies" were considering licensing the software. Samsung denied those claims.
Earlier this week, new rumors cropped up, claiming Samsung was eying an acquisition of WebOS to help differentiate itself in the mobile space, now that Google has agreed to acquire Motorola, which, like Samsung, uses Android in its line of mobile devices. At the time, Samsung didn't comment.
Related stories:
• Has Samsung set its sights on HP's WebOS?
• HP: WebOS licenses in the works
• Study: Android, then iOS to rule phones in 2016
The idea that Samsung would acquire WebOS to differentiate its mobile products fails to consider that the company already has its own operating system in Bada. Though currently representing a small sliver of the mobile market, the operating system is expected to grow in popularity over the next several years.
Earlier this year, research firm ABI Research reported that Bada could have as much as 10 percent worldwide market share in the mobile space in 2016. However, it would still be trailing Android and Apple's iOS platform, which are expected to have 45 percent and 19 percent market share, respectively.
HP did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on Samsung's WebOS statement.