HP WebOS, we hardly knew ye

A while ago I blogged about how RIM kinda sorta doesn’t change when it comes to getting ahead. HP is a pretty stagnant force in the PC industry, bringing us problem plagued laptops and touch-based desktops from the #1 PC manufacturer in the world. Unfortunately, in the same boat as Microsoft they can’t be bothered with taking their business to the next level. Just as they don’t know what to do with Web Services division (i.e. Windows Live and company), it wasn’t such a good idea to make the acquisition of Palm.

I was actually excited about the 2009 announcement to introduce WebOS to the world and let all of the old weight be shed (in a patent portfolio owned by ACCESS Co Ltd), and simultaneously their stock sharply rose. Then came nothing. All there was were two little devices but everyone was asking for the OS on a tablet envisioning how awesome that would be.

Then came the HP acquisition which had some mixed reviews. I mean, sure it was necessary to give them some driving force to release new products or give them a boost in resources/revenue. But fast forward to 2011, and you’ll see that the PlayBook scores higher marks than their offering does. It was the combination of a non-existent app ecosystem and iffy hardware design that made it a less than stellar competitor. And now it’s all gone, and we see prices as low as $49 (Staples) for these relics. I guess that’s what doing nothing gets ya. Oh right – what I’m trying to say is, in for 2 16GB.