HP CEO: Google-Motorola deal could close-source Android
HP CEO Meg Whitman said a closed-source Android and iOS could create a big opportunity for webOS in the long run — WebOS could be an important player in the long run as an open-source mobile operating system because Android …
Context & Ripple Effects
Whitman's argument caps a year-long pivot: after mid-2011 licensing talks went nowhere and HP scrapped its webOS hardware, the company contributed webOS to open source in December 2011 with no devices left to run it. Her claim that the Google-Motorola deal could push Android closed is unconfirmed — she is positioning, not reporting — but it gives the orphaned OS a reason to exist: as one of the few credible open alternatives if Android's openness becomes conditional.
The timing matters because Android's momentum had already shown cracks — ComScore's MobiLens data confirmed an uncharacteristic slowing of Android's US smartphone growth at the end of 2011 — so any hint of closure lands on manufacturers already weighing their options. The story traveled widely the same day, picked up by webOS Nation, Business Insider, The Inquirer, and Softpedia, reflecting how much attention hung on webOS's post-hardware fate.
First-order effects
- HP gains a marketing frame for Open webOS aimed squarely at device makers: Whitman is telling OEMs that the only guaranteed-open mobile OS besides Android may be the one HP just gave away.
- Google faces a new reputational test — its Motorola acquisition is now publicly framed by a major industry player as a threat to Android's open-source model, forcing it to defend commitments it made when the deal was announced.
Second-order effects
- If handset makers take the closure risk seriously, they begin hedging with second-platform investments, and webOS competes for that slot against every other non-Android option — though HP must first find a hardware partner after killing its own devices.
- A credible 'Android might close' narrative strengthens the bargaining position of any ecosystem courting Android OEMs, raising the cost for Google of even appearing to restrict access.
Third-order effects
- The episode points toward openness itself becoming a competitive weapon in mobile: as patent-driven consolidation like Google-Motorola proceeds, the governance of an OS — who can fork it, who can be locked out — turns into a selling point independent of features.
- If the pattern holds, platform owners face pressure to make openness contractual rather than discretionary, since a single executive's speculation about closure is enough to activate rival ecosystems.
The trend: Mobile operating system competition is shifting from feature sets toward governance, with open-source status becoming a strategic asset as consolidation raises doubts about platform neutrality.