LG acquires webOS from HP to power smart HDTV sets

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AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
LG on Monday announced it has acquired the webOS operating system from Hewlett-Packard, which it will use to power its next-generation television sets.

LG announced at this week's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, that it has purchased HP's webOS Global Business Unit. The deal reportedly includes all of the patents, employees, and source code associated with the operating system originally developed by Palm.

Instead of using webOS to power smartphones or tablets, as was done previously, LG said it plans to use the software on forthcoming television sets. Details on LG's acquisition were first reported on Monday by CNet.

Palm 1


With webOS on its HDTVs, LG plans to offer an "intuitive user experience and Internet services," said Skott Ahn, president and chief technology officer at LG Electronics Inc. The webOS team will work at LG's new Silicon Valley Lab. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The acquisition by LG marks the latest twist and turn in the strange history of webOS. The platform was first developed by Palm, which was then headed by ex-Apple executive Jon Rubinstein, and it powered the company's Pre smartphone lineup before the struggling company was sold to HP for $1.2 billion in 2010.

HP acquired Palm primarily to own webOS, and used the platform for its TouchPad tablet, which debuted in 2011. But after seeing slow sales after only weeks on the market, HP decided to abandon the TouchPad and move remaining inventory with a $99 fire sale.

HP then announced last year that webOS would live on as an open source project. Rubinstein, who joined HP through its acquisition of Palm, also left the PC maker last year.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 79
    gcguygcguy Posts: 14member
    Doh. I don't get with the size, scope, and history if HP how they can't be a viable contender like Sumdung and LookPee. Perhaps they will move to Android based devices? I would love to have another American company in the electronics game.
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  • Reply 2 of 79
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    PREDICTION: Six to nine months from now, LG leaves the TV market.


     


    WebOS is the STD of software.

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  • Reply 3 of 79
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    tallest skil wrote: »
    PREDICTION: Six to nine months from now, LG leaves the TV market.

    WebOS is the STD of software.

    STD
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    STD may refer to:
    1. Sexually transmitted disease
    2. Subscriber trunk dialling, also known as subscriber toll dialling, allowing subscribers to dial trunk calls without operator assistance.
    3. Doctor of Sacred Theology (Sacrae Theologiae Doctor)
    4. São Tomé and Príncipe dobra, the ISO 4217 code for the currency of São Tomé and Príncipe
    5. Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq, one of the many incarnations of the Sunbeam Car Company
    6. Grupo Santander, The New York Stock Exchange symbol
    7. Schaffer The Darklord, a nerdcore rapper from Queens, New York.
    8. C++ Standard Library
    9. STD, followed by an integer, is a designation of an RFC that has been accepted as an Internet Standard
    10. Stroud railway station (National Rail code) in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
    11. Scheduled Time of Departure, the time advertised by an airline (or other transport company) as the time a flight (or other form of transport) is due to start its journey.
    12. std, the set direction flag instruction on x86 compatible CPUs, opposite of cld
    13. Mayor Buenaventura Vivas Airport, in Santo Domingo, Venezuela (IATA code STD)
    14. Internet Standard, abbreviated as STD, e.g. "STD 1"
    15. S-T-D, STD is a Linux-based Security Tool,S-T-D
    16. Save the date, a notice stating the date of a significant event such as a wedding

    Perhaps something else on TS's mind...
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  • Reply 4 of 79
    wshuff4wshuff4 Posts: 47member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post


    PREDICTION: Six to nine months from now, LG leaves the TV market.


     


    WebOS is the STD of software.



    LOL!  Nice to start Monday with a laugh.

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  • Reply 5 of 79
    saareksaarek Posts: 1,609member


    At least this way it'll get used, I still find it hard to believe just how badly HP screwed up with Web OS. Was it perfect, no. Could it have been a genuine competitor to iOS and Android, absolutely, at least in my opinion.

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  • Reply 6 of 79
    adrayvenadrayven Posts: 460member
    Such a waste.. a real waste.. webOS had such potential.. now, it's nothing more than a TV interface? wow. Amazing how corporate politics and BS can kill a good products potential.

    I loved webOS, it's tile setup for multitasking was awesome.. Android does something similar, but its incomplete.. they use it as a previous history task list instead of a true multi-tasking ui.. gets confusing as to whats running and what was running that you used previously.

    Notification setup was very cool too.. can get text messages on all devices.. not just phone.. Yes, you can do that with iMessage, but only iMessage's.. webOS allowed it with standard text/photo messages as well.. was very cool..

    Ahead of their time and little appreciated.
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  • Reply 7 of 79
    waybacmacwaybacmac Posts: 309member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    LG on Monday announced it has acquired the webOS operating system from Hewlett-Packard, which it will use to power its next-generation television sets.


     


    I predict that if this is successful, WebOS will then be used to power LG's next-generation of toaster-refrigerator combo devices for enterprise break rooms.

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  • Reply 8 of 79
    waybacmacwaybacmac Posts: 309member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by gcguy View Post



    Doh. I don't get with the size, scope, and history if HP how they can't be a viable contender like Sumdung and LookPee. Perhaps they will move to Android based devices? I would love to have another American company in the electronics game.


    Ask and you shall receive: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/gadgetbox/hp-launches-slate-7-android-tablet-beats-audio-169-1C8516739

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  • Reply 9 of 79
    john.bjohn.b Posts: 2,742member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Instead of using webOS to power smartphones or tablets, as was done previously, LG said it plans to use the software on forthcoming television sets. Details on LG's acquisition were first reported on Monday by CNet.



    With webOS on its HDTVs, LG plans to offer an "intuitive user experience and Internet services," said Skott Ahn, president and chief technology officer at LG Electronics Inc. The webOS team will work at LG's new Silicon Valley Lab. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.


     


    Based on my experience with their current "Smart TV" and their "Magic Remote Control", they couldn't do much worse on the UX front.  Switching inputs is needlessly complicated (and slow), not to mention incompatible with virtually all 3rd party remotes.


     


    I'd rather see them address the severe artifacting issues with their so-called 120 Hz Tru-Motion technology.

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  • Reply 10 of 79
    theunfetteredmindtheunfetteredmind Posts: 505member


    I think Samsung should have done this after HP announced they were going to kill off any WebOS development. They could have used it to truly create a competitor to Android and iOS. I don't predict LG will be able to do the same.

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  • Reply 11 of 79
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    The Sisterhood of the Traveling OS.
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  • Reply 12 of 79
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    philboogie wrote: »
    STD
    From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    STD may refer to:
    1. Sexually transmitted disease
    2. Subscriber trunk dialling, also known as subscriber toll dialling, allowing subscribers to dial trunk calls without operator assistance.
    3. Doctor of Sacred Theology (Sacrae Theologiae Doctor)
    4. São Tomé and Príncipe dobra, the ISO 4217 code for the currency of São Tomé and Príncipe
    5. Sunbeam-Talbot-Darracq, one of the many incarnations of the Sunbeam Car Company
    6. Grupo Santander, The New York Stock Exchange symbol
    7. Schaffer The Darklord, a nerdcore rapper from Queens, New York.
    8. C++ Standard Library
    9. STD, followed by an integer, is a designation of an RFC that has been accepted as an Internet Standard
    10. Stroud railway station (National Rail code) in Stroud, Gloucestershire, England
    11. Scheduled Time of Departure, the time advertised by an airline (or other transport company) as the time a flight (or other form of transport) is due to start its journey.
    12. std, the set direction flag instruction on x86 compatible CPUs, opposite of cld
    13. Mayor Buenaventura Vivas Airport, in Santo Domingo, Venezuela (IATA code STD)
    14. Internet Standard, abbreviated as STD, e.g. "STD 1"
    15. S-T-D, STD is a Linux-based Security Tool,S-T-D
    16. Save the date, a notice stating the date of a significant event such as a wedding

    Perhaps something else on TS's mind...
    He means sexually transmitted disease.
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  • Reply 13 of 79
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post

    He means sexually transmitted disease.


     


    Well, don't be hasty now; I'm starting to take a fancy to "save the date", particularly since one can almost predict the timeframe in which the company that owns it has an internal capitulation… And "scheduled time of departure" in the same vein, as we could probably predict the timeframe from which the company then sells WebOS to another unsuspecting victim… image

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  • Reply 14 of 79
    MacPromacpro Posts: 19,873member
    tallest skil wrote: »
    PREDICTION: Six to nine months from now, LG leaves the TV market.

    WebOS is the STD of software.

    If only Scamsung had bought it first. Darn it!

    I still feel guilty buyiong a Scamsung fridge but I love the LED lights ...:\
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  • Reply 15 of 79
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    U guys crack me ?

    Thanks Sol; not being American I don't see abbreviations as fast as I would like. Thanks TS - LOL
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  • Reply 16 of 79
    jameskatt2jameskatt2 Posts: 722member
    WebOS is definitely going to die now.

    The future is NOT in a OS Powered TV monitor. The problem is that people don't buy TV monitors frequently. They buy them about every 10 years. Thus the hardware (including CPU and GPU) is going to age and get slower compared to the competitions.

    The Competition is Apple TV. Apple TV is inexpensive and can be replaced every 1-2 years. Its hardware will always be competitive with the competition. Once it gets gaming and downloadable apps capabilities, it will KILL the competition.
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  • Reply 17 of 79
    richlrichl Posts: 2,213member


    I'm surprised that someone hasn't made a Smart TV fork of Android yet.

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  • Reply 18 of 79
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member


    Originally Posted by jameskatt2 View Post

    The future is NOT in a OS Powered TV monitor. The problem is that people don't buy TV monitors frequently. They buy them about every 10 years. Thus the hardware (including CPU and GPU) is going to age and get slower compared to the competitions.



    The Competition is Apple TV. Apple TV is inexpensive and can be replaced every 1-2 years. Its hardware will always be competitive with the competition. Once it gets gaming and downloadable apps capabilities, it will KILL the competition.


     


    That's one of the biggest reasons I still don't think Apple will make an actual TV. They don't support anything beyond three years, which is all well and good, but the fact that people wouldn't care and would just hang onto their TV two or even three times that length doesn't do much for new software and hardware adoption in that regard.

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  • Reply 19 of 79
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    adrayven wrote: »
    I loved webOS, it's tile setup for multitasking was awesome.. Android does something similar, but its incomplete.. they use it as a previous history task list instead of a true multi-tasking ui.. gets confusing as to whats running and what was running that you used previously.

    I liked the tiles but it was ultimately doomed. It used too much power and slowed down the system too much as you added tiles. This was not a good solution for a phone. Maybe once all handhelds are powered by Arc Reactors things will be different. Android's solution is more well rounded. Apple's solution is the most efficient but it's also the most limited in functionality.
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  • Reply 20 of 79
    solipsismxsolipsismx Posts: 19,566member
    tallest skil wrote: »
    Well, don't be hasty now; I'm starting to take a fancy to "save the date", particularly since one can almost predict the timeframe in which the company that owns it has an internal capitulation… And "scheduled time of departure" in the same vein, as we could probably predict the timeframe from which the company then sells WebOS to another unsuspecting victim… ;)

    I like the Sexually Transmitted Disease option. I'm picturing some LG's CEO getting some other company's CEO to meet him in some hotel room. He knocks him out with a roofie and he wakes up several hours later in the bathroom with paperwork and a HDD taped to his body and finds written on the mirror, "YOU NOW HAVE WEB OS."
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