Google could close-source Android, says HP chief
Meg Whitman says another mobile OS is needed once Google owns Motorola, and promotes webOS's cause
Published: 17 February, 2012
Hewlett-Packard may have sidelined webOS into the open source process, but it refuses to give up on the former Palm platform. CEO Meg Whitman has leapt on uncertainty over Google's strategies once it acquires its own handset arm, to present webOS as the truly open mobile platform.
Once Google owns Motorola Mobility, Android could effectively become closed source, argued Whitman, and this could enhance webOS's role, though the process will take about four years. Talking at the HP Global Partner conference in Las Vegas this week, she said: "The industry needs another OS" if Android becomes more closed, since the other strong contenders are proprietary.
WebOS had a turbulent ride last year, being relegated from the heart of HP's shortlived cloud device strategy, which would have seen the software embedded into all kinds of devices and appliances, to an open source project. Many thought that would soon see webOS as forgotten in HP as Leo Apotheker, the CEO who conceived the cloud strategy but then, just as quickly, reversed the strategy and then killed the webOS mobile devices business.
But his successor has proved surprisingly enthusiastic about retaining webOS as a future weapon as more companies try to create their own operating platforms for mobile gadgets and even the internet of things. Web technologies like HTML5 make it more viable to have many OSs, since the differences are shielded from developers, and this may dilute the commitment of some firms like Samsung and Sony to Android.
Whitman told the summit that she acknowledged there has been uncertainty around webOS but she promised to clarify the situation and insisted HP would continue to contribute to its development. However, conference attendees noted that, apart from Whitman's professed "excitement" about webOS, the platform was scarcely mentioned in other sessions, and indeed, new remote device management software was announced for Android and iOS, but not HP's own platform.
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