HP’s PSG to be a Spin-Off

Oh man, LEVI, this is big news.

There’s two things I hope happen from this. First and foremost, I hope this means we eventually get to see new webOS devices. Bradley has hinted we might see a return of the Touchpad or of new tablets. I hope we get that AND new phones.

Second, I hope it really will be the spirit of a startup. Having the agility and freedom of a startup might, just might, give us hardware to rival everyone else.

The bad thing either way is that it will still be a while before we get new webOS devices.

Can this be like what Motorola did with Motorola Mobility?   I made a new thread at Precentral.net about how I can see Todd Bradley in charge of a new spin off company that makes hardware with webOS software.   That means the company will focus strictly on webOS development.  

Well, would webOS (the software) go with the spinoff (PSG) or stay with HP?  Bradley is behind webOS and it would make sense for the newly independent company to make webOS devices but how exactly would PSG do that after they lay off all the former Palm GBU HW folks?  Unless, this is what Bradley is talking about with the Touchpad resurrection comment.  There was speculation early this year that PSG might make tablets with webOS instead of doing them in-house at the Palm GBU.

As far as PSG webOS devices go, PSG still has the same problem (if not more so) than HP currently does in regards to a viable business model for webOS devices.  Significant demand for webOS devices has not existed for webOS devices when priced above their cost.  Unless PSG can come up with much more competitive HW, WebOS devices either need to be sold at a slight loss to seed the market or webOS needs to be modified significantly to make it an easier sell (for example, adding the ability to run Android applications would make it instantly more competitive).

If HP (parent) keeps the OS and PSG (the spun off company) makes the HW, this isn’t a recipe for success – we saw how well that worked with Palm (PalmSoft and PalmOne).  Mileage may vary but HP hasn’t inspired a lot of confidence recently.

Are you guys SERIOUSLY excited by all of this?  Gee, let’s do the math… it will take months (six to twelve) for this spin-off to happen.  How many new devices will be created in that time, while the company is still under the rule of leo, the d-bag?  ZEROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.  Then, after all of this dead-time, Scott Bradley, or whomever IS in charge of the PSG, will be able to make “nimble” decisions, getting new hardware out in a shorter span of time.  Wow, by Christmas of 2012, we might have the Pre4!!!  I think I’m drooling with the excitement of this. 

Please, Samsung, take over ALL of HP, while their price is seriously deflated, fire the morons, and put webOS into your cool hardware.  Now THAT would be excitement.  This is just more sales-speak for “please don’t give up on us…we have new stuff, in the coming months!”

this news does not really make me happy as I have lost all faith in HP to develop webOS in any way or form. I suspect like Motorola mobility, this spin off is created with hope of it being bought. I suspect HP would rather sell webOS separately and webOS future depends more on its new potential owners

I don’t trust in HP until they get ride of the current CEO

This is sooooo Palm 3.0

Ruby must be the one behind this Evil Plan to resurrect Palm again. Go Ruby GO!!~~

Just heard the Chairman of the Board for HP, Lane, discuss the spin off of the Computer Group, the tablet and the future of WEBOS.  This is what he said on the  2pm segment of CNBC.  He said there is no customer for the computer group, that it will be spun off to the shareholders of HP and be a separate company.  He said that company will decide whether to make tablets, including the Touchpad, and other devices.  He further said that HP will keep WEBOS software and license it to companies including the spun off computer group if it decides to make WEBOS devices.  He said HP can make money on WEBOS and that HP’s vision was to use the software on mulitple devices across the board of products.  2:45 PM Sept 1

IN REFLECTION:

HP’s senior management, (Apothecracker & Co), has been acting like spoiled kids in a toy store… They see something they want, get Mommy & Daddy, (the cherry-picked board), to buy it… then they abuse it, break it, toss it aside, & run over to the next great thing they see. Meanwhile, the parents not only smile & nod approvingly at the bad behavior, but they reward the brats for it… Uhg.

This spinoff might sound great but IMHO “PSG”, it’s few remaining employees, & those “shareholders” are seemingly going to see a disaster unfold.

This is a very old corporate trick to excuse pending losses, while keeping shareholders stupid & happy with bottom-line profit.
A notably huge failure was when GM tried this in the early 2000′s with AC Delco. They announced that they were …”going to focus on their core business and allow the division freedom to stay competitive in a fast-moving economy (to China)…”.
They “spun it off”, (see ditched), as “Delphi”… Buried in the details was a lot of old GM debt, pension-legacy costs, & left them with little cash to maintain themselves… It backfired on GM because Delphi made most of GM’s electronics & many other components. They had to buy it back to save production & prevent all kinds of lawsuits. It resulted in a massively-expensive blunder, ultimately leading to GM’s bankruptcy in the end.