Posts Tagged ‘HP’

Source

Rejoice: HP is buying Palm! If the boring beigeness of HP doesn’t kill it in the process, this could only be good for anyone looking for a neat, solid smartphone that beats Google and Apple in many areas.

What Happened
It’s not the first time Palm has come back from the dead. After Palm PDAs went down, Treo and Handspring temporarily resuscitated the business. WebOS arrived late, but it looked like it may save the day for a while. The third time may be the charm: After a precipitous decline in Palm’s business and several weeks of speculation, HP announced today that they’re acquiring the beleaguered phone company for $1.2 billion. The deal is expected to close by July 31, the end of HP’s third fiscal quarter. Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein will remain with the company, though it’s not clear in what capacity.

The announcement comes as a huge surprise, after rumors had linked everyone from HTC to Lenovo as possible suitors, and after Rubinstein insisted that they’d be fine on their own. For Palm, it’s the lifeboat they’ve desperately needed ever since their stock price was targeted at zero earlier this year. For HP, it’s an opportunity to instantly become an major smartphone player.

It’s also a relative bargain for HP; the purchase price of $5.70 is a decent premium over where Palm was trading yesterday, but this is a company that was valued at twice that not very long ago. And HP’s not just acquiring Palm’s hardware; the real crown jewel here is webOS, which HP SVP Todd Bradley made a point of saying could apply to a number of mobile devices. Most enticingly: tablets.

Why, though, not just stick with Windows Phone 7, or Android? Palm’s webOS might be a robust platform, but it’s lacking a robust developer community—its 2,000 apps pale in comparison to what the Apple App Store and Android Market offer. The answer is that HP’s hedging: they’ll continue to work with other platforms, while hoping that their scale will help ramp-up dev interest in broadening the webOS ecosystem.

Worst Case Scenario
The real challenge might come in reconciling the brand personalities. Palm’s products, regardless of how well they’ve sold, have always been innovative—the Pre was a breath of fresh air when it was released. HP, on the other hand, has tended to paint in broad beige strokes. And their products that do stand out, like the Envy laptop, have come across as derivative. There’s also the unfortunate case of iPaq—another HP acquisition that was left to rot.

So will Palm fuel HP’s creative capabilities? Or will HP stifle the ingenuity that’s made Palm worth buying in the first place?

Best Case Scenario
HP has the resources to fully leverage Palm’s software and hardware, and not just on smartphones. And while Palm’s problem was never that it couldn’t keep up with demand, its main issue—generating demand in the first place—is no longer a problem with HP’s reach and marketing budget. HP’s made a significant investment thus far in their TouchSmart interface, and while it’s a fine skin it can only stand to gain from webOS insights. Can you say webOS tablet?

What May Happen
As for when we’ll actually start seeing webOS in HP products, HP’s being mum. It’s reasonable to expect we won’t hear anything more official until the transaction is complete, but there are some very clear paths they can (and probably will) take:

• Phones—Whither the iPaq? Ha, who cares! It’s doubtful that HP would spend this kind of money on an established brand like Palm just to murder it in service of a flimsy brand like iPaq. HP’s phone line has always been undistinguished, so for them to buy Palm is effectively to install a pre-made, well-regarded mobile division into their company. So, what does this mean in terms of actual phones?

There will probably be another generation of webOS phones. Yesterday, I wouldn’t have felt certain about this; today, it’s a good bet. Palm was living and dying by the Pre and Pixi, which were first-gen products running a first-gen operating system. HP’s massive resources will give the OS the kind of time it needs to spread its wings on time-appropriate hardware. Imagine a webOS phone with WVGA resolution; with a Snapdragon processor; with a genuinely responsive interface. That’s what we’re talking about here. Forget the Pre Plus—it’s time to start waiting for the Pre II.

The only awkward point here is that HP is an official partner with Microsoft for Windows Phone 7. They’ve committed to continue working with Windows Phone 7, although one might imagine that their interest in Microsoft’s platform diminishes significantly now that they’ve got their own in-house mobile operating system.

• Computers—With this purchase comes a wealth of intellectual property (patents) spanning decades, much of which concerns touch interfaces. HP has been very, very aggressive in developing touch interfaces for Windows machines with its TouchSmart line, and could easily incorporate some of Palm’s mobile tricks into its software. By and large, though, HP’s expansive computer lineup will remain unchanged.

• Tablets—HP’s tablet strategy is heading in a dangerous direction. The anticipated HP Slate runs Windows 7, a desktop OS, while much of the rest of the industry seems to have opted for mobile OSes. HP hasn’t shown a ton of interest in Android in the past, and their tablet plans have so far ignored Google’s OS—the presumed competitors to the iPad’s iPhone-based OS. Which brings me to what is quite possibly the most exciting possibility here: The webOS tablet.

No, seriously—think about it. WebOS has a more intuitive interface than Android, and better notification system than anyone else, and prodigious social networking abilities. It has a fair amount of apps. It’s compatible with the same mobile hardware that’s powering many of the first wave of Android tablets. This—this—would be awesome.

Winners and Losers
We’ll have a lot of time to see how this plays out in the long run, but for now it’s pretty clear who’s gaining the most from this scenario—and who’s not.

The losers, predictably, end up being pretty much every other company with a smartphone OS. Microsoft, though, must be feeling the blow in particular. While HP may continue to make Windows Phone 7 products, they’ve gone from being a key partner to a serious competitor in a single afternoon.

The winners: Palm, who gets the white knight they’ve been praying for. But specially, the winner is you, the consumer, who will get the dual benefits of a healthy, broadly supported webOS and increased competition.

By Tony Bradley | Source

HP released a new video showing off its upcoming “iPad killer”–the Slate tablet PC. The video is reminiscent of Verizon’s “Droid Does” campaign highlighting all of the capabilities of the Android-based Droid that the Apple iPhone can’t deliver. In a mere 30 seconds HP manages to demonstrate that its tablet is–in a nutshell–everything Apple’s iPad isn’t.

The Apple iPad launched this past Saturday and has been a tremendous success. Even those who aren’t captivated by the iPad have been forced to admit a healthy respect for what its capable of. For all the iPad does well, though, it can’t seem to escape the fact that it won’t completely replace your desktop or notebook PC.

The HP Slate, on the other hand, may be another story. All of the features and functions lacking in the Apple iPad as a business tool or notebook replacement, exist on the HP Slate. Apple has succeeded in bringing the tablet PC concept to the mainstream consciousness, but HP has the benefit of riding the tablet wave, while also learning from Apple’s mistakes and introducing a tablet that fills the perceived holes in the iPad.

• Camera / video. The camera, and the ability to record video may be more consumer gadget than business tool, but video conferencing is becoming mainstream and mobile business professionals rely on it. The HP Slate video demonstrates a two-way video call using Skype–indicating that the Slate will have both front and rear-facing cameras.

• USB ports. Apple is known for creating exemplary user experiences, but those user experiences come with locked-down, proprietary hardware. The HP Slate has USB ports–enabling attachment of external storage, and other USB-enabled devices just like on a standard desktop or notebook PC.

• SD memory expansion. USB devices can be used to expand storage capacity on the tablet, but SD memory cards are a much less obtrusive way to do so. With the Apple iPad, whatever storage capacity you purchase is the storage capacity you are stuck with–there is no option to expand it if necessary. The Slate has an SD memory card slot.

• Software. The HP Slate is a Windows 7-based device. You can install the software you are used to rather than just the apps approved by Apple. Granted, there are 150,000 apps in the Apple App Store, and already thousands of iPad-specific apps, but there will inevitably be software you use on a daily basis that just won’t work on an iPad. The video shows the HP Slate with iTunes, Skype, and the Mozilla Firefox Web browser installed.

• Adobe Flash. Arguably one of the most-discussed gaps in iPad functionality is the lack of support for Adobe Flash. I am of the opinion that the Web should be standards-based and not rely on a proprietary technology like Flash, but its hard to argue with the fact that Flash is fairly ubiquitous on the Web today.

As much as the community at large has debated the value of the iPad as a business tool–Apple failed to hold up its end. Apple was so focused on building a consumer gadget that it left off critical elements that could have let the iPad not just be used as a business tool–but dominate as a business tool.

The iPad is a success, and it has significantly more business functionality than iPad naysayers would have you believe, but Apple left the door open for HP and others to ride on iPad’s coattails and deliver a true business-capable tablet device. Apple will end up either accepting its role as a niche consumer gadget–a role it is familiar and comfortable with–or be forced to play catch up with devices like the Slate as it develops the iPad 2.0.

The bottom line is that the HP Slate is a significant device. It may not “beat” the iPad in total sales, and it may not cause the sort of hyperbole and excitement that Apple brought with the iPad, but even if it ends up as only the second-best tablet on the market, it will be a win for HP and a significant step for Windows 7-based tablets.

HP has been America’s trusted brand for many years now. HP computers are more reliable then Dell and Gateway because of there quality parts and services. Pavilions used to be known for there very expensive price but after years of being on the market and quickly becoming trusted by consumers, many deals and discounts on there products became more readily available.

The HP Pavilion All-in-One Desktop computer not only gives you more bang for your buck but comes all together in one neat package. The monitor and pc are connected together as one saving lots of space on your desk. The screen size is decent in size, 18.5 inch’s is good enough for all purpose needs. Even though the new standard in the market years later will soon be 22 inches or more for Desktop Monitors. The pavilion will rock you with 4GB of Ram which allows you to run multiple programs at once with out the lag and slow downs of older PC’s.

CLICK HERE To Get Yours Today!

Features:

HP continues to be the leader in top of the line laptops next to premium brands such as the Sony Viao and Alienware. The Pavilion line is no slouch as it packs power, quality and reliability. Check this one out for yourself.

Get your laptop Today!

Features: