Sony, Samsung and Motorola might watch HP webOS as a Premium Alternative to Android.
Hewlett-Packard CEO Léo Apotheker says licensing webOS to third-party handset manufacturers is something the company would certainly entertain.
One conditions was said by Jon Rubinstein: “We might eye a company who wants to license webOS as unique platform for all their devices. We will not license a partner who launch its devices with Android, Microsoft (Windows Phone) and webOS.
We want a partner who really wants to delivery a very unique ecosystem.”
In a client note this week, Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry makes the case that HP should license webOS, and comes up with some interesting scenarios to support that argument.
He says that Sony, Motorola and Samsung are growing disillusioned with Google’s Android OS.
They feel there’s too much fragmentation and too little differentiation among Android devices and that companies producing low-end handsets are collapsing the premium market they’d most like to play in.
“They’re starting to realize that their Android devices are no different in the eyes of the customer than a $20 Android Phone from Huawei,” Chowdhry says.
“They’re worried that Android may dilute their global brand as customers put them in the same bucket with Acer, Asus, ZTE, Huawei, and MediaTek.”
And if that’s the case, Sony, Motorola and Samsung might be interested in another mobile OS, one that would preserve their premium brand.
Right time for license HP webOS ?
It’s a widely acclaimed platform and it’s not fragmented at all.
If the company were to license it to a few select partners, under the right conditions it could extend the operating system’s reach and bolster HP’s revenues.
HP could also define a handful of well-conceived reference designs to which OEM partners must adhere and charge them $50 to $75 per device.
By doing that, HP could keep hardware quality high and position webOS as a premium alternative to Android.
Which may be just what companies like Sony, Motorola and Samsung are looking for.
Edited by Francisco De Jesús. WorldWide Tech & Science.
Original post made by:allthingsdigital
