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HP reconsidering the spinoff of PSG? [Brief]

By: , 9/21/2011 1:36 pm | 47 comments

Man, the HP board has been busy. First word gets out that they are thinking of sacking Leo, and now Bloomberg is reporting that they are also thinking about reconsidering the whole PSG spinoff altogether.

PSG, for those who don’t know, is the Personal Systems Group. It is responsible for all consumer devices (except printers) including PCs, Laptops, and Tablets. It is headed up by one of our favorite people Tom Bradley (which begs the question…why isn’t he being considered to replace Leo?). It is, easily, the largest part of HP and is worth a reported $41 billion. Crazy…

In August Leo told stockholders that the PSG would be spun off so that HP could focus on software…

Many thought this was one of the crazier things Leo ever thought of so it makes sense that if they are thinking of getting rid of him that they may be thinking his entire strategy as well.

Crazy.

Source: Bloomberg

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About David Baxter

David is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of webOSroundup. When not toiling away at WOR he is usually with his family, at church, building a website of some kind or another, or playing a video game. @davidbbaxter
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  • http://twitter.com/JackfromAlabama Jack Jacobs

    Lets go for the trifecta and bring back webOS hardware!

  • Gr8tfullyblessed

    Aww man the news keeps getting better and better . . Could this be the light @ the end of the tunnel for webos . . I surely hope so

    • Anonymous

      While I would love it, I kind of doubt it.  Unless they immediately about-face on the 500+ layoffs in the webOS GBU, I don’t think it will recover, even if they want it to.  I absolutely hope I’m wrong, but we’ll see eventually.

  • Jay

    The HP boardroom has become a circus and this sends out some really weird signals, making some wonder if all their top people are flakes. I hope Meg Whitman comes in and lets webOS fly along with the phones and tablets, but a lot of damage has already been done to and by suppliers, clients and consumers. It’s going to take years for HP to recover from this nonsensical farce.

  • Scotland

    Interesting…  This would be a complete turnaround for HP.  Bradley for CEO!

    • Anonymous

      I agree, I just don’t get why they wouldn’t look at someone like Bradly.  He seems like he’d be a great fit for that position.

      • Anonymous

        Do any of you even know his track record or personal style?  He is not one of the nice guys.

  • Gscott

    Is it just me or are the people in charge of these companies getting stupider by the minute?
    Hp’s Leo, Netflix’s Hastings…it’s an epidemic!

  • Carlo Sangalang

    Not unusual for a large company to renege on a spinoff. GE did away with spinning off it’s consumer business (Appliances and consumer services) a few years back.

  • http://profiles.google.com/d.dennis.liang dennis liang

    I really really want the TouchPad GO. Please bring it to the market PLEASE!!1

    • Hope is free

      I agree.

      1, release the touchpad go.

      2, end the touchpad 9.7(after the October last run).

      3, release the pre3.

      4, end the veer.

      5, release a better touchpad 9.7 next year.

      6, sell the touchpadGO for $300(that’s what I would pay for a 7 inch tab).

      • Anonymous

        No don’t kill the Veer… all it needs is a 320×480 screen, put it on prepaid and it’ll compete nicely with all the lower end phones.

        • Hope is free

           They can do that, but after they get market share with the TpGO, Tp 9.7 and Pre3. Also, the TpGO should have an SD card slot, and to cut cost it should come with 4gb of memory.

      • http://www.facebook.com/derecuda Derecuda

        ^^New CEO right there^^

      • http://www.facebook.com/derecuda Derecuda

        ^^New CEO right there^^

  • Malette

    I just want a new webOS phone and some other stuff like a tablet with good hardware and features. Whatever happens within HP I just keep hoping it leads in that direction somehow.

  • Rich Kee

    If they’d just release more hardware at those lower prices I bet they’d keep seeing all those crazy sales, and really build up a following for webOS. I think that’s the only way they’re gonna penetrate the market over Android and iOS.

  • Namgod

    Might as well build on their 2nd place in the tablet space, instead of throwing it away.

  • Namgod

    Might as well build on their 2nd place in the tablet space, instead of throwing it away.

    • Anonymous

      I agree. They have a following now, regardless of why people bought it. webOS is in more hands now and they should capatilize on the devices they had lined up. Best case scenario of course would be to pull a Samsung Galaxy and put out that keyboardless phone we saw awhile back on every major carrier with 4G.

  • Erving

    I hope Leo is fired.
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • Kussface

    this Leo guys is an idiot! Lets get him fired soon!

  • Anonymous

    Why is Bradley one of your favorite people? 

    By many accounts he screwed up Palm, bailed, took the PSG gig, let Rubby run a dated design playbook for a year (post buyout), told Raul Sood brand image doesn’t mean anything b/c “I sell more PCs a month than anyone in the world” (in front of a large crowd). 

    He basically b-slapped Raul in a public forum and has never even held an iPhone by his own admission.

    So tell me again how this classic old school suit is a favorite person for company that cannot innovate out of a paper bag and couldn’t bring an innovative product to market on time to save its life.

    • Scotland

      Well, that’s a fair question. Was it ever confirmed that Bradley was the one who smacked down Raul at the HP retreat?  I recall Raul didn’t name exactly who it was.

      As far as never using an iPhone, I think you’re confusing Bradley with Ruby – Ruby said he never used an iPhone.  I could be wrong but I don’t recall a Q/A to/from Bradley on that.

      I don’t know anything about his personal style, but Bradley IS committed to PCs and HP has had success with him as head of the PSG.  Moreover, he was reported to be influential in the Palm purchase and is behind webOS by all accounts.  I would agree that HP is not very innovative in PCs and it’s a shame that HP hasn’t done more with Voodoo but Palm/webOS were intended to be part of HP becoming more innovative (i.e. less like Dell with scant R&D and low margins and more like Apple with innovative, high-margin products).  It is Leo and the board who put the kibosh on that vision with their scorched earth policy toward Palm’s HW division (that basically harmed any chance of success with webOS SW because of a lack of any clear SW licensing roadmap or partners).  Leo also harmed the PSG with the botched spinoff/sale announcement and Bradley and his team has reportedly been trying to restore confidence and pick up the pieces from that debacle.

      So, yeah, who knows if Bradley could do a better job but, at least, he has been committed to HP making HW and has been committed to webOS whereas we have no idea where any outsiders stand.

      • eid

        Yes Ruby said he never used Iphone.  Not Todd.
        I don’t think you can be that innovative in a commodity PC market where price is king and all your competitors have the same cpus, gpus, ram, hard drives.  You can make your HP box prettier but that’s it.  That’s probably why Todd is behind WebOS.  It could add some value to HP PCs and features that MS didn’t think of.  Otherwise, PSG is just a efficiency thing.  Make your widget for cheaper than Dell, Lenovo and that’s all you can fight with.  I will take Todd.  Don’t know Whitman at all.  Leo is finished though.  You can’t have WSJ and Bloomberg saying you’re finished and still be in place. 
        Put webOS back on!

        • Anonymous

          Sorry but I read the interview and it was Bradley – he was talking about the iPaq phone and eating his own dog food. 

          Ruby worked at Apple help design the iPod (yes?) and saw development work on the iPhone.  If he said he never touched an iPhone he was fibbing.

          Also from what I have heard it was Bradley that stomped on Raul at a company strategy meeting.  Raul is just too polite to name names plus he wants to go back there should the insanity stop and real leadership at the board and CxO level be restored.

          Right now Leo and Ray Lane are driving this company into the ground.  If Meg or anyone else takes over and they don’t fire half the board including Ray Lane the crap sandwich that is HP will continue for another year.

          BTW – WSJ did an article on the whole August debacle and mentioned Bradley (by name) as one of the lemons.

          Ruby reported to Bradley and the two them thought the Veer, Pre3 and chubby/slow TP were going to be hits.  That  is all I need to hear re: saying no thanks to Bradley.   If Raul was running Palm for a year I doubt any of those tired designs saw the light of day.

          Bradley is praying they spin off PSG and he is given the keys b/c if they keep it I expect he will resign or be canned.

  • Dude

    I guess they realized that money doesn’t grow on trees and they’re going to need some source of income to finance their software venture.

  • Tonymac32

    HP has been constantly “finding” more touchpads, pr3′s have been entering the wild from various oddball sources, and HP hasn’t liquidated their supplier stock.  Conspiracy theory would have it it was a move to legally dump touchpads into the wild to create instant market share.  And it worked.  And, an apparently expendable executive was disposed of in the process.
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • http://twitter.com/SunnyTwito Sunny Phono

    I know I’ll be singing ‘ding-dong the the witch is dead’ regardless of whether or not they revive webOS.  But here’s to hope!   They could gain a lot of goodwill and loyalty from the userbase  if they revive product lines.  

  • Brik

    The board is starting to look like yahoos (both, the company & literally) with the haste and indecision.
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • Raun

    Wow this company will be dead faster than it killed webos

  • Barry

    Hmm HP have burned me now, I have a Pre 3 and a TP both bought at pre fire sale prices, I have had a rebate for the TP, but even that was about £70 short, screw them I say, regardless of what they do in the future, just like I will not by Sony after the PSN fiasco I’m likely never to buy HP again.

    webOS is a joy to use but lets be honest the software is still sorely lacking in places :(

    Barry

  • Deane

    Meg Whitman is my choice for CEO. She’s one smart lady who knows how to run a company! Goodbye to Leo guess he was one of the 500+ getting fired. Course you never know maybe some of this was planned.

  • tt92618

    It’s a real circus over there in the HP board room.  That said, my gut is that they SHOULD can him as quickly as possible – Ellison, although not very eloquent about it, was right in my opinion.

    What I’d like to know, if I were a shareholder (and I’m not), would be who else on the board was complicit in these plans.  By every account I’ve seen, Ruby and Bradley did not even know about these goofy maneuvers until the eve of their announcement.  Were there members of the board who were also not aware of Leo’s misadventure in the making?  That’s a key piece of data, because if it were true, say, that all of the board members were aware of Leo’s plan and all thought that it was a great and bold move, then that speaks to their credibility and to their ability to handle this business.  If they all approved Leo’s plan, then why would anyone want Meg (current board member) as CEO, and why would anyone trust that they are going to get it right this time?  In that scenario, I’d be looking to get some shareholder action into replacing some or all of the board itself because they clearly don’t get it.  On the other hand, if some board members disagreed, I’d be tempted to think there is hope yet.

    So, shareholders, you might consider asking for those minutes for the meetings where Leo’s bold plan was reviewed, discussed, and approved.  Think you’ll get them?  Probably not – but the pressure would shape some folks up, maybe.

  • Hank

    Put Tom Bradely in charge NOW!!!!

  • Pedro

    Leo leaving will not only bring life back to HP, but also -after the webOS buzz- this could steer the company back on track. Evolve webOS, maybe TouchPad was the means to bring a whole lot more end users -so even by loosing there’s a greater gain- and perhaps the next tablet should be an envy brand (high end & performance, and a bad ass webOS) why not?
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • mark

    I have been wondering for awhile how much influence Microsoft if any,  had in Leo’s  decision to stop webOS hardware. HP places windows on all there computers. Anyway Leo is a moron and I am shocked he has lasted this long. It would be hard to re-focus but doable. Put everything back together, get a plan, move forward and stay in the spot light. And tell it like it is. Be careful not to over sell and under deliver. 

  • Setati

    I’m just sayin’…anyone remember New Coke?

  • Tonymac32

    New coke is still sold in some global markets, oddly enough.  I agree that Leo Undertaker Has to go.  Yesterday.
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

    • Setati

      @Tony I was referring to taking a product that is losing in sales, create some sort of emotional outrage and now everyone wants the product. More people have/want a touchpad or Web OS after all this. Complete incompetence or marketing? I’m undecided.

  • Otrain

    Any one remember the Amiga or the Next OS? I fear the webOS in a year will be in the same category of great operating systems that did not have staying power. Best hope is license to HTC or some loaded and highly visible like Facebook shows interest.

  • Thenaziandroid

    Sack that Jew. He is one Jew we can do without. His only concern is his stock options and severance pay/retirement package wyhich is heavily influence by HP’s stock price. I want his bagel eating ass out of HP. Bring back Carla Fiorina. 

    • Brik

      ^WoW^

    • Gr8tfullyblessed

      Yo man I understand that you don’t like leo and its cool to voice your opinion. But there’s no room for racists comments here . . Everyone says that the webos community is the best. Lets keep the integrity of the webos community in tact and keep the comments classy shall we

  • Thenaziandroid

    Bye Bye Leo! 

  • Jon

    Next os was purchased by apple when Jobs came back. iphone on sprint will squash webOS forever, and as of now, webOS is barely better than ISO or android, and by the time HP gets it together, webOS will have very little to offer
    – sent from webOSroundup XL

  • MPM

    Why not just make webOS an app that you can install on any phone.