All webOS devices including TouchPad Get the Axe from HP

08/18/2011 Comments Off on All webOS devices including TouchPad Get the Axe from HP HP, Mobile News Like

Well it was a good run, sort of, ok not really and it wasn’t a very long run either. HP made a shocking announcement that they have in fact decided to cancel production of all future webOS devices including the TouchPad, Veer and Pre series phones. They are now looking to offload or sell webOS to another company. In related news HP also mentioned that they plan to shed their entire PC business.

Here’s a statement from a Business Wire report:

HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones.

This news surfaced moments after we published our top 10 tablets of 2011 list, and don’t we feel silly now because that list did include the TouchPad. In all fairness though we do believe this news is quite a shame and still believe there could have been a bright future for the TouchPad, but that’s just how it goes in business at times, anything can happen and you can’t always know what to expect.

HP basically implied that ever since they acquired Palm 16 months ago they have not had much, if any, great success. In other words, their milestones and financial targets are not even close to what they had hoped for and this of course was not due to lack of efforts. Despite that, is HP giving up too quickly and easily? What does this mean for webOS hardware currently on the market and what’s in store for the future of webOS?

Right now there seems to be more questions than answers, but the dust will settle and we’re certain that more details will be shared soon enough. One thing we do know is that up until now HP made every effort to make the TouchPad and webOS 3.0 a success. They even drastically dropped the price of their tablet in hopes of generating more sales, but that didn’t seem to work all that well.

One of the many questions that comes to mind is what does this mean for HP investors and shareholders? Will stock prices plummet resulting in outrage or what type of impact will there be in this department? Let’s not forget about all of the software and hardware related jobs that are going to be lost along the way due to this sudden turn of events.

As I write this I’m still in shock myself, I feel as though I need to pinch myself to determine whether I’m really writing or of this is just a dream. It just seems like a lot to grasp and absorb. One person even sent me a Tweet that read:

despite rumors of HP giving the axe & not being able to be sold in Best Buy they are still there. Is this an Apple hoax?

Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but this is in fact a real breaking news story and not a hoax. If it is a hoax it would have to be one of the best executed hoaxes of all time and this is just a wild guess but I doubt it’s a belated April fools joke either.

It’s quite sad really. I can understand how intimidating it must be to try and compete with Android and iOS devices, especially considering the number of iPad and Android tablet apps that are available, but webOS could have been a real competitor and hey we all have to start somewhere!

On top of everything this also means that any plans of launching a 4G TouchPad are history. This just goes to show how quickly tech devices and gadgets can fall off the radar. Here today and gone tomorrow. Easy come and easy go. Call it quitting, call it defeat and bowing down to the competition, call it a bold but smart move, heck call it whatever you’d like, at this point it doesn’t seem to matter much either way. The point is, the TouchPad is no more and webOS is now in limbo.