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HP deciding the fate of webOS

Numerous sources have said HP would hold a meeting in the early hours of this morning to decide the fate of webOS.

Joe Svetlik Reporter
Joe has been writing about consumer tech for nearly seven years now, but his liking for all things shiny goes back to the Gameboy he received aged eight (and that he still plays on at family gatherings, much to the annoyance of his parents). His pride and joy is an Infocus projector, whose 80-inch picture elevates movie nights to a whole new level.
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Joe Svetlik
2 min read

Its fate could already be decided. Numerous sources said HP's top bods were convening last night (we imagine in some kind of underground bunker) to discuss what to do with its troubled webOS operating system, The Verge reports.

Recently-appointed CEO Meg Whitman was expected to head the meeting, which was rumoured to take place at 4.30pm PT (12.30am UK time).

Reuters recently reported that HP was looking to sell off its ailing mobile platform division, so a sale could yet take place, giving webOS a fresh lease of life (albeit under a different guise). Possible buyers include IBM, Amazon, Intel, Oracle, and BlackBerry maker RIM. Samsung was also previously rumoured to be interested in buying the operating system, though that was subsequently nixed.

HP bought webOS when it acquired Palm. It launched the Pre 3 and Veer smart phones, and the TouchPad tablet, but they all failed to set the world alight. That is, until HP dropped the price of the TouchPad to just £90, and the Pre 3 to £50. Unsurprisingly, both shifted a little better after that.

According to reports, HP could sell webOS for hundreds of millions of dollars, though no one expects it to be anywhere near worth the $1.2b (£746m) it paid for Palm in 2010.

It'd be a shame to see webOS die, as it was a decent operating system with some real innovations. It's just a pity the hardware wasn't up to scratch (and that the ads were fronted by Russell Brand).

What would you like to see happen to webOS? Should it live on under a different owner? Let us know on our Facebook page.