When it comes to the PC market, HP is one of the top players. They are the best-selling PC vendor and they have quite a bit of power behind them. In the mobile world? Things haven’t exactly gone great for the company in the past.
WebOS was a decent operating system but by the time it had arrived, it was clear that Android and iOS were going to dominant the scene and there was little HP could say or do about it. With WebOS gone, HP has taken to focusing on Windows 8.
Considering the company is a huge player in the desktop and laptop world, this makes a lot of sense. Except it seems that they might not just be focusing on Windows 8, after all.
A new rumor has popped up suggesting that HP is preparing to launch an Nvidia Tegra 4-based Android offering. Considering that HP has already confirmed that they aren’t planning on releasing a Windows RT device, I suppose having Android for their ARM side of things makes some sense.
The problem is that it also divides HP’s mobile stance. Sticking strongly behind the developing Windows 8 platform shows that they have confidence in an area that they have always had strong success with: Windows.
That said, Android is the king of the mobile world, so easy money right? Unfortunately, wrong. There are tons of players in the Android world and HP is an unknown in that market. Just ask Dell how hard it is to break into the Android scene. While Dell once had several Android devices and even a few Android phones, their only tablet efforts now are exclusively Windows 8.
HP needs to focus on Windows 8 first. Once they have become established as a big player in the Windows 8 tablet world, then they can reconsider Android as well. With less hardware partners involved in the Windows 8 tablet business, it is easier to make a name for yourself in this market than it is in the Android world.
Do I believe that HP will make an Android device? It wouldn’t surprise me. Will it do well? That’s hard to say. I find it hard to believe that HP could deliver some killer feature that would steal away thunder from big players like Asus and Samsung in the Android space – but you never know I guess.
What do you think, should HP branch out and support Android and Windows 8, or are they better served with sticking exclusively to Windows for the time being? Let us know in the comments below.
All Comments
People choose Android because of its price. But HP is not well known to have competitive prices. It would be an expensive experiment. Hope it won’t drown the whole company.