HP Might License webOS, Says CEO (Video)
Hewlett-Packard's plans for webOS extend far beyond tablets, smartphones and PCs. Hewlett-Packard CEO Léo Apotheker says the company is planning to make it available to its partners to provide mobility services to their customers.
Context & Ripple Effects
Licensing webOS would mark the sharpest move yet in Léo Apotheker's effort to redefine HP since he laid out his first strategy as chief executive in March, shifting the company from selling hardware toward owning a software platform. It lands two weeks before the TouchPad's reported June 12 debut, with HP already committed to a $599 price for the 32GB model, Wal-Mart shelf placement, and a first wave of app partners.
The timing matters internally as well as strategically: the licensing talk surfaces amid reports of senior vice presidents Marius Haas, Tom Iannotti and Gary Budzinski departing, so Apotheker is staking the platform's future on outside adoption rather than HP's own device volumes alone.
First-order effects
- HP's enterprise partners gain the option to build mobility services on webOS rather than merely resell HP hardware, turning the operating system into a licensable product line alongside the TouchPad launch.
- Apotheker directly ties the platform's credibility to the TouchPad rollout — its $599 price point, Wal-Mart distribution and early app roster become the showcase that prospective licensees will judge.
Second-order effects
- Rival mobile platforms face a new licensor courting the same hardware partners, forcing those partners to weigh a third OS option against the incumbents when planning their own device roadmaps.
- If partners sign on, HP's revenue mix tilts further from boxes to software royalties, pressuring the services-and-hardware economics that defined its traditional business.
Third-order effects
- The move points toward mobile operating systems competing as open licensing plays rather than captive assets of single manufacturers, with HP betting that reach across partners matters more than exclusive hardware control.
- Whether HP sustains the investment through the TouchPad's commercial reception remains the open question that determines whether this becomes an industry structure shift or a strategic retreat.
The trend: Mobile operating systems are shifting from vertically integrated assets toward licensed platforms, with HP positioning webOS to compete for partner ecosystems against incumbent smartphone and tablet software.