Hewlett - Packard has already say it will use Palm ’s webOS in smartphones and ticket estimator , but on Tuesday it reveal it has another category of products in mind : printing machine .
HP is buying Palm because it want the ship’s company ’s operating arrangement to apply in connection - connect printer , Chairman and CEO Mark Hurd said during HP ’s quarterly earnings call . The printers let people publish maps , dramaturgy tickets and other depicted object straight from the Internet , without needing to start a personal computer .
“ You ’ve now make a whole series of Web - connected printers that , as they connect to the Web , need an OS . We prefer that group O to be our [ noetic property ] , where we can see to it the customer experience , ” Hurd said when call for about HP ’s motif for the $ 1.2 billion batch to buy Palm .
“ you may certainly make the same case for minor variety - factor product in the peregrine world , like a ticket , ” he add up .
HP does want to grow Palm ’s smartphone business organization , Hurd read , but that ’s not its only motivation for buy the company , and mayhap not even the biggest .
“ It is n’t precisely a smartphone child’s play as I ’ve visualize some people compose , ” Hurd aver . The deal is “ strategically broader ” for HP . “ It really has more to do with the IP , ” he said , meaning the intellectual property , or Palm ’s webOS .
Microsoft is still an important partner , Hurd was speedy to add , but HP wants its own bone for sure devices .
“ Microsoft is probably one of the best family relationship we ’ve convey in our company , and they ’re still extremely important to us , ” he say . “ There are a dyad of bod factors , though , that are very attractive for us , and these small form factors is where we think the IP can be very linear . ”
HP foretell its plans to acquire Palm last month . The company ’s webOS has won some praise , but Palm has still struggled to compete against Apple ’s iPhone , Research In Motion ’s BlackBerry , and a new waving of handsets based on Google ’s Android OS . HP hopes to end the deal in the third quarter , subject to blessing from Palm ’s shareholder .
HP unveiled its most advanced web - connected pressman last June , the Photosmart Premium with TouchSmart Web . It has a 4.3 - inch touchscreen that lets user view , format and print content from vane sites that HP has partnership with , such as Google Maps , the USA Today newspaper publisher , Coupons.com and the Fandango ticket service .
It also pinch up to an HP store where customers can download applications for other Web sites . Hurd also paint a picture that HP plans to use Palm ’s app store for its printers and other devices .
