HP considering sale of webOS to 'several' companies including Oracle

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  • Reply 21 of 28
    bedouinbedouin Posts: 331member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by jragosta View Post


    Granted, app availability stinks, but the system itself works great. It could actually be a good purchase for someone. I could see RIM buying it.



    That would be a disaster. Doing nothing with it at all would be better than RIM messing with it. Sad really.



    I own an iPad 2 and more Apple products than I care to count right now, but all the blind WebOS hate reeks of extreme fanboyism. My mom actually likes the TouchPad more than the iPad . . .
  • Reply 22 of 28
    "Hundreds of millions of dollars".... LMAO!



    I don't think so. Even if they own some blockbuster intellectual property, I cannot see anyone bidding what they suggest.
  • Reply 23 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by sonar666 View Post


    Seems unlikely to me that HP would sell WebOS to Oracle.



    They will sell it to anyone willing to take it off their hands. Their reputation and credibility is in pretty rough shape.
  • Reply 24 of 28
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ankleskater View Post


    Meg Whitman is keeping the mature PC business and selling off assets in the exponentially growing mobile space. Is that the decision of a visionary?



    My first thought too.



    I read that HP is looking to emulate IBM's transition out of hardware/manufacturing and into business services...iacocca was right, pretty soon we will all be selling insurance to each other!
  • Reply 25 of 28
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    Hey Apple, buy them back.
  • Reply 26 of 28
    blastdoorblastdoor Posts: 3,258member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by z3r0 View Post


    Can Apple even buy it? I mean they can afford it, but I wonder if the DOJ would get involved.



    I know Google, Samsung, and HTC would push the DOJ to block an acquisition.



    I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see how Apple's ~30% share of the smartphone market combined with WebOS' ~0% of the smartphone market would result in Apple having a monopoly in the smartphone market.



    I guess you could argue that Apple might have anti-compeitive intentions with any patents that might come with WebOS. But to a certain extent every company has "anti-compeitive" intentions in so far as they want to beat their competitors. Anti-trust law only kicks in when a firm actually has the ability, not just the desire, to rub out the competition and become or defend a monopoly. For example. while Microsoft can get into trouble for bundling IE with Windows, Apple doesn't get into trouble for bundling Safari with the Mac. The difference is all about market power.



    I suspect that it would be very hard to prove that Apple would be in a position to monopolize the smartphone market just by buying WebOS.
  • Reply 27 of 28
    z3r0z3r0 Posts: 238member
    Well I'm pretty sure they would argue against Apple gaining all that IP. Though Nokia owns a ton.



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Blastdoor View Post


    I'm not a lawyer, but I don't see how Apple's ~30% share of the smartphone market combined with WebOS' ~0% of the smartphone market would result in Apple having a monopoly in the smartphone market.



    I guess you could argue that Apple might have anti-compeitive intentions with any patents that might come with WebOS. But to a certain extent every company has "anti-compeitive" intentions in so far as they want to beat their competitors. Anti-trust law only kicks in when a firm actually has the ability, not just the desire, to rub out the competition and become or defend a monopoly. For example. while Microsoft can get into trouble for bundling IE with Windows, Apple doesn't get into trouble for bundling Safari with the Mac. The difference is all about market power.



    I suspect that it would be very hard to prove that Apple would be in a position to monopolize the smartphone market just by buying WebOS.



  • Reply 28 of 28
    MarvinMarvin Posts: 15,310moderator
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Ireland View Post


    Hey Apple, buy them back.



    I think it makes some sense as Palm had a lot of nice features in WebOS. I don't think they will though because of the whole Rubinstein politics. I feel bad for him as he seems quite passionate about his work and not an entirely corporate type but it is funny to see the differences between the iPhone and the Pre and you can tell the Pre was designed by people who make too many compromises in quality and who try to please everyone.



    If he went back to Apple, he would be placed below both Ive and Cook and he'd probably rather retire than be subservient to them. Now Rubinstein and WebOS don't necessarily have to go together but I'd say that's the only way the deal would be worthwhile - getting the product is not where the value is, it's in the people who make it.



    If I'm being totally honest, I actually feel Rubinstein is a far more engaging presenter than Cook:



    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLXsQ3JkLdU



    If Apple is going to do something crazy like make a TV set, who would sell it best to a skeptical public, Cook or Rubi? I think Apple needs to sort this issue out. Cook seems like a nice guy but like Wozniak, they talk about new products in a way that they've been convinced they are great and are recommending them to a friend. That's not strong enough IMO. The company's reputation and products might not require it any more of course but it's nice to watch an engaging presentation at a new launch and although the current Apple team wouldn't like to hear it, Rubinstein has a presentation style closer to Jobs than any of them and not in a plagiarising way like the Google presenters.
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