The Verge reports that HP has launched a new Mobility Global Business Unit that will be responsible for handling consumer tablets and other segments and categories where HP will be able to offer a "differentiated value" to customers. The existing notebook teams -- including those working on the upcoming tablets -- will remain within the Printing and Personal Systems Group under PC group manager James Mouton until further notice.
The news arrives by way of HP's Todd Bradley who currently is the head of the Printing and Personal Systems Group (PPSG). Bradley announced in an internal memo that he will be overseeing this new Mobility business unit as well, and that Alberto Torres -- who recently oversaw the MeeGo products and platform at Nokia as Executive Vice President -- will be running the unit as Senior Vice President of Mobility and answering directly to him starting early September.
"During his seven years at Nokia, he held a variety of critical leadership positions, including two years on the company's Executive Board," Bradley said in the company memo. "In earlier roles at Nokia, Alberto ran the company's premium brand, its accessory and CDMA businesses and corporate strategy. Prior to Nokia, he was a partner at McKinsey and Company, where he worked with industry leaders in mobile devices, consumer technologies, software and Internet services. A Ph.D in computer science from Stanford University, Alberto currently holds vice chairman roles with the firms Bang & Olufsen and Opera Software."
Starting September 3, Torres will push to accelerate the company's overall tablet strategy and "execute products against our consumer/SMB target." The exact structure of Torres' team will follow that strategy, Bradley wrote.
Earlier this week, sources reported that HP was moving the members of its Palm Global Business Unit to a new subsidiary called GRAM. The new company was reportedly introduced late last week during an all-hands meeting with webOS employees. A sheet distributed to those employees called the new spinoff "potent, light, nimble" and "at the core of all things big and small."
"GRAM is a new company leveraging the core strengths of webOS, Enyo and out Cloud offerings as well as the firepower of our partners to create a technology that will unleash the freedom of the Web," reads HP's description of the spin-off company.
The public roll-out is expected to take place by the end of next month. So far little is known about what Gram will offer, but according to a letter distributed to webOS employees, Gram is currently in stealth mode -- employees can tell friends and family about what the new company will offer, but are to keep quiet about the details to everyone else.
AllThingsD reports that the new Mobility GBU will have nothing to do with the secretive GRAM spinoff, and that Torres will not be connected to the incubator either.
