Should Apple Buy Web OS From HP? Web OS Ran Faster As Webapp On iPad 2 Than on Touchpad

I don't remember where I read this but before HP finally bought Palm, Apple was reported interested in Palm. If this is true, I wonder if Apple would still be interested in Web OS and its own treasure trove of patents.

Considering that Palm has its own zealots, it would not br a bad idea for Apple to own them as well.

Furthermore, there are multiple reports today that Web OS ran faster on the iPad than on the native Touchpad hardware. And that was running Web OS as a Webapp.

So what do you think? Apple hooking up Web OS to iOS? Oh, man...

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Analyst Upgrades RIM Because HP Abandoned Web OS; Shows Wall Street Doesn't Get It

Via Bloomberg, a Wall Street analyst upgrades RIM, maker of Blackberry and Playbook, because HP decided to end its mobile experiment and kill of all Web OS development.

This really shows just how much brilliance it takes to work on Wall Street. Which is to say none at all.

RIM's problem isn't HP. Nor was HP's problem in the market blackberries specifically but rather it's the iPhone and the legions of Android devices out there.

Right now, everyone's problem in the tablet market is the iPad. And the only mobile platform out there that will challenge Apple's iOS is Android.

RIM's dismal performance in the tablet market isn't that Touchpads were outselling Playbooks. Now, I know that just maybe RIM might begin to pick up some disenchanted Web OS users but I doubt that'll be enough to suddenly vault the company back to a rate of growth that puts it on par with iOS or Android's growth.

The analyst might just as well be ready to upgrade RIM should ever decide to change the name of Playbook to something that can be taken more seriously be enterprise users.

Source: Bloomberg.

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HP Admits "iPad" Effect Is Real; Which Dell Announces Shortfall, Is the PC Market In Trouble?

According to HP, the tablet effect that Microsoft and other PC makers tried very hard to ignore is all too real. While HP doesn't specifically mention the iPad, no one thinks HP is referring to its own Touchpad, Playbook, Xoom, the Tab, or other Windows-based tablets. Obviously, with the iPad controlling a majority of the tablet market, consumers as well as some businesses are buying iPads and not buying laptops.

 Last quarter, even Apple admit that the iPad has cannabilized some Mac sales. The only thing is there is a way bigger chunk of PC market for the iPad to cannibalize. What's funny is that data companies like Gartner, which refuses to admit that the iPad is a computer but rather categorize it as a media tablet, never admit that the iPad was affecting PC sales.  Now that the world's biggest PC maker admit the "iPad" effect, I wonder what will these firms say the next time they release their PC data.

 And speak of the biggest PC maker in the world, HP may not be the biggest computer maker after all.  Apple would be the biggest computer maker in the world by volume if iPads were counted along with the Macs.  It means Apple shipped 13.6 million computers to HP's 9.7 million.  And to make matters worse, Apple has over 30% in operating margin while HP was pulling in less than 6%

So, what is going on here?  Is the PC market in trouble?  It's is difficult to say.  While Microsoft and others refuse to admit it public, they know that the iPad is killing them.  Microsoft's Windows revenue shrank last quarter just as Apple sold over 9 million iPads.

Furthermore, Dell provided a lower guidance this week when it reported its quarterly earnings but it did not mention the tablet market.  However, given today's HP news, it is not a difficult leap to believe that Dell also was affected by the iPad and anticipate rough waters ahead.

Meanwhile, in western Europe, Apple's Mac share increased to 7% from 5.6% a year ago.  And how did the other PC makers do?  On a while, the PC market shrank nearly 19%.  How much of that is because of tablets in general and the iPad specifically?

Microsoft promises Windows 8 for tablets next year.  We may see a reversal of the PC makers' fortune in 2012.  However, there is also the issue of the global economic condition.  At this time, things are not going well.

And given the economic risks and failure after failure of non-iPad tablets in 2011, Windows 8 tablet rollouts may not be as robust.  Keep in mind that Apple isn't done yet.  The iPad and Mac sales in Asia, especially Greater China, is continue to outpace the market by a wide margin.

Even with home field advantage, Apple's revenue in China is now bigger than Lenovo's own - $3.8 billion to $2.8 billion.  And that's before Apple's iPhone and iPad are being offered on other major carriers' networks.  Furthermore, Apple's retail reach is not as extensive as those as Lenovo.  Just wait until Apple opens up more stores.

It'll be interesting to revisit this issue in a quarter, in six months, and a year from now.  I wonder if we'll be able to recognize the PC market as we remember it today.


 Source: Light Reading, Appleinsider.

Back To School Apps? Some of Them Overlap With Work Ones Too

Pretty soon, you'll see some very good back to school apps posts all over the Internet.  And you know what?  If you're a student and you are lucky enough to have an iOS device, like an iPod touch or iPad that you'll be taking to school with you this fall, you could be arming yourself with some pretty neat apps.

Here are some from iSmashPhone.

And if you're not a student, you might think this doesn't apply to you.  But it does.  Evernote is one of the apps and sevices recommended.  And it's definitely not build with students in mind but definite has its uses across multiple disciples:  school, business, or just our plain old lives.

Dropbox is the other app that is recommended, which, too, has uses beyond school or work.

Growing up, I sometimes thought of school as work.  You don't get paid but you go anyway.  Obviously, as a kid, you don't appreciate some of the good times (and awkward ones) that go on until you're out of school and joined the workforce.

So, I recommend any journal app that you can use to record your thoughts as you go through your school years and get ready for life outside of textbooks, finals, and Friday night football.  Personally, I like Momento.

And like Dropbox and Evernote, Momento works even if you're not going back to school this fall.

Any app you would recommend that has uses for both school and work?

AT&T Forces Users To Go With All or Nothing Texting Plans – Desperation Shows As Billions In Revenue In Jeopardy

So, AT&T decides to screw its users by going with an all-or-nothing texting plan.  And yeah, they call it streamlining but those of who have been watching AT&T closing since 2007 when the iPhone went on sale call it “desperation”.  How are they desparate?

Simple.  The days of texting as a revenue are coming to an end and AT&T knows this.  According to Daring Fireball and Paris Lemon, it has to do with iMessage that will be on any device running iOS 5 and the Macs.  That’s tens of millions of users who will be moving beyond texting.

Personally, I’ve given it up a long while back.

What will the other carriers do?  Well, here’s the interesting part.  They may follow AT&T and do the same thing.  Furthermore, I think something else will happen.

Soon, carriers will need to bundle texting into their voice plans just to keep users.  If rumors about pre-paid iPhones are true, you can see the iPhone running on Virgin Mobile or MetroPCS.  Their prepaid plans generally include unlimited texting.

Not only will the major carriers have to compete with new iPhone carriers in the pre-paid market but they’ll have to contend with cheaper plans.  No way Verizon and AT&T can compete with $50 or $60 unlimited talk, texting, and wireless Internet access.

HP Will Abandon Web OS Development

Ouch...HP is having a really bad day on a generally bad day for the stock market.

HP trading was halted as news reports confirm that it was getting rid of its PC business via a spin-off.  And just now, HP announced it will cease Web OS development and find other means to optimize the $1.2 billion Palm buyout.

Can you say patents? HP's statement is that it will ""continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward."

Any guess who will pick up the pieces?


Source: Marketwatch, Statement on WebOS (multiple sources)

HP To Spin Off PC Biz; What about Web OS?

Looks like HP is doing what IBM did a few years back when it sold its PC business to Lenovo.

While there is no word if Web OS will be part of the spin-off but I hope they're smart enough to keep it in the mother ship 

Source:  Bloomberg.