Cathie Lesjak, HP CFO, just gave us the detail behind HP’s reasoning to shut down its webOS hardware operations. To put it simply, the TouchPad and webOS devices failed to meet HP’s financial targets and unit sell-through expectations. And HP failed to “position webOS as the clear number two platform for tablets.” According to Cathie, HP’s “bet on webOS” would result in an even larger loss in Q4 if the company continued business as usual, even after dropping the TouchPad’s price by $100. Cathie added,
Why HP killed its webOS devices
is a deputy editor and Verge co-founder with a passion for human-centric cities, e-bikes, and life as a digital nomad. He’s been a tech journalist for 20 years.
To make this investment a financial success would require significant investments over the next one to two years, creating risk without clear returns. Therefore we have decided to shut down operations around webOS devices and will be exploring strategic alternatives to optimize the value of the software platform and development capability.”
Hear that HTC, Samsung... webOS is looking for a device to call home.
Listen to the full recording:
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