HP Shifting Resources from PCs to Tablets

During the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on Tuesday, Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman said that the company is shifting resources from PCs to tablets. She said the market moved extremely fast to tablets and smartphones, and HP now needs to manage that transition.

"And it's not that HP didn't try to manage that transition -- they did with the acquisition of Palm," she said. "But as you know, under the previous [management], that took a little detour to nowhere."

HP placed all bets on the webOS operating system when it purchased Palm for $1.2 billion back in 2010. The company planed a long string of smartphones, tablets and PCs based on the platform once the first tablet, the TouchPad, wowed customers. But that never happened, and the doomed device was discontinued less than two months after it hit the market.

In August 2011, then-current Leo Apotheker announced that the company would dump its plans for webOS and throw the non-licensed components into the open-source community. He also mentioned that the company may spin off its personal computer business.

"We believe this bold action will squarely position HP in software and information to create the next-generation information platform," Apotheker said. "This is about a transformation to position HP for a new future and driving shareholder value."

Apotheker was replaced by Meg Whitman as HP's CEO a month later. "I think that what you have at work here, and which may be for the good of the company, is someone who very much has a bit between her teeth and wants to do this job and take on this challenge," Golden Gate University Dean Emeritus Terry Connelly said. "In all fairness, that's what Hewlett Packard needs."

This week during Mobile World Congress 2013, HP revealed a 7-inch Android tablet it plans to sell for $170 USD, a pricetag that's far less than Amazon's own Kindle Fire HD and Google's Nexus 7. It's even less than Apple's overpriced 7-inch tablet, the 7-inch iPad mini. It's also significantly less than what HP charges for its business-oriented Windows 8-based ElitePad 900.

That said, HP isn't bailing out of the PC industry, but merely shifting some its resources away from a declining market to invest more in a lucrative one: tablets and smartphones. "Innovation is not dead at this company," she said. "So, what I did is I increased RD spending...we have to get these products that are close to market to market fast."

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  • g-unit1111
    Then why did they acquire and kill off Palm? I guess that's a mystery for the ages. :ange:
    Reply
  • the_crippler
    g-unit1111Then why did they acquire and kill off Palm? I guess that's a mystery for the ages.
    Because they ended up fumbling it too badly to be profitable?
    Reply
  • spentshells
    They are so far out of touch they make dell seem edgy and modern
    Reply
  • g-unit1111
    10440826 said:
    Because they ended up fumbling it too badly to be profitable?

    Or maybe they just didn't want competition a la Dexter.

    They are so far out of touch they make dell seem edgy and modern

    :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
    Reply
  • TechnoBowl
    Meg sucks!
    Reply
  • Onus
    HP has forgotten that they are first and foremost a printer company. They have diluted their brand so badly it is likely it will be washed away.
    Reply
  • wlachan
    Right... is that the reason my Touchpad 32GB is not being supported now? IMHO, WebOS is much more user friendly than Android from my consumer POV. Anyway, I have decided to stay away from anything HP since they don't give a xxxx about their customers. They don't even know what they are doing.
    Reply
  • tobalaz
    HP makes solid wireless printers that are easy to use and set up.
    HP made a decent computer once, and still probably do.
    I just don't care how they screwed my aunt out of a 5 year warranty on her laptop because they outsourced the support staff, voided current warranties then as a "peace offering" told her they wouldn't support her laptop which was under warranty but would give her $100 off a new one. Before that she only bought HP and up until that point they had excellent customer service and repair support.
    They REALLY tried hard to drive away their loyal customers, and that's pretty darn sad because they made good printers and pcs for so long.
    Reply
  • twelve25
    onusHP has forgotten that they are first and foremost a printer company. They have diluted their brand so badly it is likely it will be washed away.
    You know nothing about the origins and history of HP if you think of them as a printer company.
    Reply
  • twelve25
    So instead of fighting to keep first place in PCs, they decide to tack on as the caboose in a crowded tablet market? Smart move! Maybe if they are really innovative they can make it into the top 20 tablet companies with a 5% marketshare!
    Reply