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The TouchPad tablet from Hewlett-Packard was one of the most closely watched new gadgets of 2011 — and quickly turned out to be the year’s biggest flop. The TouchPad, which was supposed to be a rival to Apple’s iPad, lasted just seven weeks on the market before H.P. killed it, citing weak sales.
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Analysts point to a long list of factors behind the tablet’s quick demise. But some of the people involved in creating the tablet’s core software now say the product barely had a fighting chance.
That software is called WebOS, an operating system built on the same technology used by many Web browsers. It promised to be more flexible and open than Apple’s tightly controlled iOS software, and more beautiful than Google’s sometimes wonky Android system. H.P. acquired Palm, the maker of WebOS, for $1.2 billion in 2010 so it could use the software in products like the TouchPad.
WebOS turned out to be something of a toxic asset. Several former Palm and H.P. employees involved in WebOS say that there was little hope for the software from the beginning, because the way it was built was so deeply flawed.
“Palm was ahead of its time in trying to build a phone software platform using Web technology, and we just weren’t able to execute such an ambitious and breakthrough design,” said Paul Mercer, former senior director of software at Palm, who oversaw the interface design of WebOS and recruited crucial members of the team. “Perhaps it never could have been executed because the technology wasn’t there yet.”
HP dismette tablet e telefoni, è incerta sui PC e compra Autonomy (E così il glorioso marchio Palm praticamente va a morire … Addio …) Via Bloomberg
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) is planning a sweeping overhaul of its businesses, agreeing to buy Autonomy Corp. for $10.3 billion and weighing a breakup that would unravel the much-debated Compaq Computer Corp. purchase.
Autonomy shareholders will receive $42.11 a share, Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard said in a statement. That represents a 64 percent premium over Autonomy’s closing share price yesterday. Hewlett-Packard also said it’s considering spinning off its PC division and that it will discontinue products that run WebOS software. Hewlett-Packard shares dropped after the company issued forecasts that missed estimates.
It’s official. Palm’s new WebOS device is called the Touchpad. It has a 9.7-inch screen, front 1.3-megapixel camera, and comes in 16 or 32GB models. It runs a 1.2GHz Snapdragon Processor processor and the screen resolution is 1024×768.
Designed by the “hundreds of talented programmers” on the WebOS team, the TouchPad is HP’s second slate of the new decade, the first being the HP Slate 500.
Finalmente segnali del tablet Palm. Ho deciso di aspettare a prenotare. Ma davvero! Se avete avuto voglia di leggere quell’articolo su iPad e Cloud in inglese, beh webOS è il sistema migliore per operare in presa diretta con le web app. Non ci credete? Secondo me ne vedremo delle belle (anche sui prezzi!).
“Solo tre settimane addietro, HP stava ancora lavorando allo Slate, il tablet basato su Windows 7 definito prematuramente da molti l’iPad killer. L’idea è stata, invece, accantonata da HP per lavorare a progetti basati sul WebOS. A detta di chi ha avuto modo di provarlo, lo Slate era “un dispositivo molto interessante ma lento come una tartaruga”, parola di Paul Mueller, analista di Losa Angeles, specializzato nel settore industriale. “
Penso avrebbero potuto fare qualcosa di meglio con un processore più veloce, ma questo avrebbe significato anche una minore durata delle batterie”. Se le indiscrezioni su questo nuovo tablet sono veritiere, continua Mueller “potrebbe arrivare un vero dispositivo-killer basato su WebOS, sistema operativo eccezionale per un tablet”.
C’è chi ha addirittura parlato di una giornata di sangue, che avrebbe gettato più di un’ombra sulla futura concorrenza nel mercato dei tablet. Cadaveri eccellenti, vittime di precise strategie aziendali nell’ancora fredda corsa alla tavoletta. Due dispositivi mobile praticamente decapitati e la guerra ad iPad sembra ormai rimandata.
La prima vittima, quel Courier svelato per la prima volta online alla fine dello scorso settembre. Un diario digitale di bordo, in sviluppo da parte di Microsoft per rispondere al tablet made in Cupertino. Courier sarebbe stato più piccolo di iPad, ma con un processore più potente. Alla fine dello scorso marzo la sua esistenza era stata confermata non ufficialmente.
HP and Palm, Inc. today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.
The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.
“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. “And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”
Mr. Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, will unveil a novel take on a slate-type computer during his evening keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, according to people familiar with Microsoft’s plans. The slate will be made by Hewlett-Packard and possibly available by mid-year, these people said.
This product better be good because Apple is expected to unveil its take on the slate/tablet form factor later this month. If history holds, Apple will issue a product that surprises people in a few ways and that stands out from the crowd.
So the last thing Mr. Ballmer wants to hold up is a me-too device. Press representatives from Microsoft and H.P. declined to comment on the product or the content of Mr. Ballmer’s speech. My sources, however, say that Mr. Ballmer will show the as-yet-unnamed H.P. device, which will be touted as a multimedia whiz with e-reader and multi-touch functions.
HP and 3Com Corporation today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase 3Com, a leading provider of networking switching, routing and security solutions, at a price of $7.90 per share in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $2.7 billion. The terms of the transaction have been approved by the HP and 3Com boards of directors.
This combination will transform the networking industry and underscore HP’s next-generation data center strategy built on the convergence of servers, storage, networking, management, facilities and services. The resulting business outcome will help customers simplify the network, deploy a unique and innovative edge-to-core network fabric for the enterprise and improve IT service delivery capabilities, all delivered with best-in-class price-performance.
Lauren si è appena laureata ed è in cerca di un laptop che costi meno di 1.000 dollari e abbia uno schermo da 17 pollici. Si reca inizialmente in un Apple Store ma poco dopo deve uscirne delusa: per quella cifra possono proporle al massimo un MacBook con schermo da 13 pollici.
Lauren non si perde d’animo e entra in un negozio della catena Best Buy dove trova ad attenderla una schiera di portatili dotati di Windows tra i quali trova il notebook dei suoi sogni – un Hp, per la cronaca, costato 699 dollari. La conclusione? “Semplicemente non sono abbastanza mitica per essere un’utente Mac” (“I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person”) afferma Lauren e conclude con un “I am a PC” che racchiude tutto il suo orgoglio di utente Windows soddisfatta.
3 gennaio, 2012 
Computer, Mobile 
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Il NYT racconta la storia del flop di HP nel mercato dei tablet e del suo Webos
It’s official. Palm’s new WebOS device is called the Touchpad. It has a 9.7-inch screen, front 1.3-megapixel camera, and comes in 16 or 32GB models. It runs a 1.2GHz Snapdragon Processor processor and the screen resolution is 1024×768.
HP and Palm, Inc. today 
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