Tip UsHewlett-Packard this week announced that its webOS would be released under an Open Source license meaning they will retain the patents for themselves and help to develop it.
HP have assured us that they remain active in the development and support of the webOS but it has been offered up to the open source community where both applications and web services will be developed for the next generation of mobile devices. Regarding the decision to make the Operating System open source Sam Greenblatt, CTO of the outfit’s advanced technologies division said:
We looked at all the various options we have on the table. We think this option is the best for the tech industry and HP.
webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected, and scalable. HP paid $1.2 billion for webOS maker Palm in April 2010 and they came up with a strategy to integrate it into its core PC products as well as a new family of mobile devices. However, HP’s webOS-based smart phones and tablets didn’t sell well. By mid-2011, the company realized it needed a change in strategy. So it ceased development of webOS devices and began examining an exit strategy. HP CEO Meg Whitman said on Friday:
By contributing this innovation, HP unleashes the creativity of the open source community to advance a new generation of applications and devices.
Despite this good news for the webOS, HP’s webOS hardware lineup is still dead for now, at least. Greenblatt emphasized that HP might later choose to build devices running webOS, the same way any other OEM would evaluate any other operating system.
TechCrunch managed to get a copy of Meg Whitman’s memo to the HP staff:
From: CEO – Meg Whitman
Sent: Friday, December 09, 2011 2:03 PM
Subject: webOS to be contributed to the open source communityMeg Whitman
CEOTO/ All Employees
SUBJECT/ webOS to be contributed to the open source community
Today, we announced that HP will contribute our webOS software to the open source community and support its development going forward. We believe that this is the best way to ensure the benefits of webOS are accessible to the largest possible ecosystem.
Since we announced the discontinuation of our webOS devices last August, the executive team has been working to determine the best path forward for this highly respected software. We looked at all the options in the market today and we see a clear need for a platform that is both open and has a single integrated stack.
webOS is the only platform designed from the ground up to be mobile, cloud-connected, and scalable. By providing webOS to the open source community and other hardware vendors we have the potential to fundamentally change the landscape.
HP engineers, partners, other developers and hardware manufacturers will be able to contribute to the development of webOS. Together, we have an opportunity to make it the foundation of a new generation of devices, applications and services to address the rapidly evolving demands of both consumers and enterprises.
I would like to thank the webOS team for continuing your efforts under very difficult circumstances during these last couple of months. Your dedication is very much appreciated.
This is a very positive move for the development of our people, our software and HP overall.
We strongly believe that the best days for webOS are still ahead.
Best,
Meg
Developers interested in this intriguing change should stay tuned to HP’s webOS Developer Blog.
