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HP Considering Licensing WebOS, Samsung Reportedly Interested
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My thoughts exactly. All these imitations of iOS can only easily take away market share from each other, iOS itself will be much harder to trump.
Oh yeah, it's doing fantastic. It's quite happily circling the drain, waiting for the other company that's doing the same, to get moving. Things couldn't be better.
Exactly. iOS doesn't have any real legitimate threats-- Apple's got a strong brand and ecosystem. Android... has a lot of fanboys. I don't see a ton of strong loyalty outside of that.
So, both of those things must happen for WebOS to become "legitimate"? A "contender"?
Wrong. The former must happen. The latter seems to be the way that's not working very well and why Samsung is looking for a different OS provider. Why would HP be any more successful than Google or Microsoft? Particularly given that Android licensing is likely to be much more attractive?
I won't say this would be disastrous for HP, but they must somehow keep focused on tight integration between WebOS and their hardware and creating an ecosystem that people find usable. These are the things that have made Apple successful and HP is really the only vendor that can challenge them at the moment (they have more resources than RIM and control both sides unlike everyone else).
Having licensees demanding changes/customization isn't a good way to keep focus. It's one reason Palm failed. It's why Microsoft continues to fail in the mobile market. And this is why Google is moving away from supporting unbridled vendor-specific customizations.
I like this. When Palm was making phones they probably weren't seriously considering licensing the OS. With HP, they probably see that the next big battle is over OS'es and not so much the platform, as smart phone hardware is made a commodity for companies like Samsung, LG, etc.
That battle will have Microsoft versus Google versus HP. Apple of course is hoping for a three way tie, mutual destruction amongst those players. I agree, it will weaken Google and actually probably help Apple.
"Gosh, should I get the Samsung with Android or WebOS, or maybe the Nokia with Meego or Windows Phone 7? ... I'll just stick with simple Apple."
What I wrote would have made more sense if you didn't cut parts out of it
WP7 has a unified experience all across the board ... it's far from being fragmented, which was what I was getting on.
The next big battle? I'm pretty sure that one's been raging for a while now. Hardware is pretty secondary to 90% of the consumers of smartphones.
People like us, however, fall in love with the OS and stick to it like glue, then bounce around from phone to phone on said OS.
I think this post belongs in the Cliche post folder....along with "Vote me down because I'm real and I spit the truth" and "Hey, when companies compete, the consumer wins!"
Somehow I knew they'd find some way to screw it up and completely miss a great opportunity to re-invent themselves.
It's increasingly becoming a situation where it's iOS + everyone else.
It seems everyone's frightened to death of taking the really big risks. The kinds that Apple takes.
But hey, quick cash from licensing is an easy draw when you don't have what it takes.
It's increasingly becoming a situation where it's iOS + everyone else.
It seems everyone's frightened to death of taking the really big risks. The kinds that Apple takes.
But hey, quick cash from licensing is an easy draw when you don't have what it takes.
I thought about Sony too (a la Clié), but the sad truth is that I trust Sony even less than HP to get state of the art hardware and design to market in a timely fashion. If they were quick enough-- I'd love to see some Sony industrial design paired with some WebOS software.
I actually prefer WebOS's UX to iOS for a few reasons, but iOS is definitely tighter / more polished-- close enough that it boils down to personal preference. But yeah-- easily more attractive to me than Android's UX. But yeah-- I'd love to see WebOS be a real player too.
Could you possibly be more hypocritical?
I use a windows phone 7, namely HTC Mozart 7. It's a great phone that runs a great operating system. After all the love that I gave to webOS and android, WP7 has proved to be a better operating system with an innovative user interface and not just another iOS knockoff.
Sales do matter but its not the end of the earth. I can easily see WP7 gaining a healthy portion of the market in the next 5 years. But the operating system is rock solid and great to use.
Right now... HP/Palm is the sole manufacturer... so how're they doing?
Palm released the origianl Palm Pre on only a handful of carriers. Then they followed it up with the fabulous Pixi.
Palm/HP is NOT Apple in that they can coast on a couple phones. As good as WebOS is... they need some more hardware.
Adding Samsung as an addition hardware maker could actually HELP WebOS.
The first battle was Apple v Google and the spoils have been divided roughly. The next battle is Google v Microsoft v HP and the latter two are just getting in the fight. There really hasn't been much blood yet between those three, but that will change as these deals start being announced.
I agree with your view. People do favor the OS over the vendor. The question I wonder about is where will the "switchers" come from, Android or iOS? Time will tell. I am sure iOS will loose some, but will Android loose a high %? I think so and agree with 0815 and others.
Too late. Not good enough. Anyone looking to make it big needs to pull off a June, 2007.
WP7, by being "good enough", won't.
Hello, Palm.
You need the entire package now - great OS, robust platform, all ready to go . . . and something really killer to shake up the market - as in, redefining the game completely, a la Apple. Otherwise it'll barely get off the ground.
MS zuned it. Give it a year before they're forced to do a "reset" or use some other interesting euphemism for "failure." Ballmer's got a million of those.
The what?
Actually, I wouldn't want Samsung to go belly-up; I rather like their TV displays.
That said, I was presented with the choice between a Samsung phone-- the Infuse, I believe-- and the Motorola Atrix a couple of months ago, and picked the Atrix. The iPhone 4's initial price was too much for a device I intended only as a phone with Mobile Hotspot capabilities. Had Palm not sold to HP, I would have seriously considered the Pre Plus or Pixi Plus.
... for iPad world as well, as, for myself, I'm really looking fwd to make a change soon towards touchpad.
Uh, this makes no sense. Why would Samsung have any interest when they already have Android, you know the OS that its supporters tell us is light years ahead of iOS with a great ecosystem around it? Samsung should just tell HP, "No thanks, we already have a better OS."
But that's not what Samsung is doing. Why?
But that's not what Samsung is doing. Why?
It seems weird that Samsung are interested. They're making great devices, but splitting their product line between two OSs just doesn't make much sense to me. It sounds like they're taking a leaf out of Nokia's book in chopping and changing and trying different strategies, and look how their lead in the smartphone market has been whittled away.
Sometimes it's better to make ANY decision, decisively; rather than hedge your bets and see what happens.
Whatever one might say about Apple, you can't deny they have a clear, decisive road-plan for iOS and their devices.
He who does no license, will enjoy stable market.
- Confucius
Apple's market is secure for the next decade, since Apple has no real competitor that uses a vertical business model. No one is as differentiated as Apple. HP has the opportunity, but they're about to blow it.
You know... the Palm Pixi.
So... HP/Palm has quite a few phones now:
Pre, Pre Plus, Pre 2 and Pre 3
Pixi, Pixi Plus
Veer
It's actually a pretty good looking lineup. Are they all still US only?
The original Palm OS was successfully licensed to a variety of manufacturers with limited fragmentation, and I wouldn't be surprised if they could pull it off again.
WebOS is a great operating system, and having more competitors in this market who are actually innovating is good news for everyone.
WebOS is a great operating system, and having more competitors in this market who are actually innovating is good news for everyone.
