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There was a time when Hewlett-Packard made computers, and Palm made phones.
Well, technically, that’s still true.
But nowadays, youthful competition has pushed some venerable former giants from their pedestals, forcing them to shake off the cobwebs and innovate once more.
Hewlett-Packard, or HP for short, has acquired Palm, hoping that the ailing smart phone manufacturer’s salvaged DNA will inject new life into its slumping sales.
I had a chance to use the HP Slate and it was a big disappointment. The lack of a tablet-optimized operating system essentially killed the user experience. You just can’t cram a stock version of Windows on a device that size and hope people will put up with it.
The Slate was supposed to come with HP’s (formerly Palm’s) WebOS, which can be found on the Palm Pre. But, alas, that dream was not realized.
Now, in a bold move, HP says that all of next year’s offerings will have WebOS alongside Windows. Not just their mobile devices, not just their tablets, but every HP PC will feature WebOS as well.
Why?
What’s the point of putting WebOS on every device?
Well, two reasons. It seems to me that HP wants to get people used to using WebOS. So by shipping it on all of their computers, people will acclimate to the user experience. Then, they’re very likely to buy an HP mobile device powered by WebOS.
There’s another reason.
With WebOS, HP mobile devices, computers and tablets alike will be able to communicate with one another right out of the box. Sound familiar?
If not, you’re not an Apple user.
Apple products are good at talking to one another. They don’t like anyone else very much, but that’s for another column.
By emulating Apple’s approach, HP may be hoping to capture some of the user-friendliness of the iconic brand.
My prediction: They’re doomed to failure. HP might sponsor Formula One racing, but they’re just not very good at marketing otherwise.
Apple, on the other hand, has become one of the most market-savvy companies in the world. And marketing is half the battle.