HP Should Offer A Smartphone: CEO
Hewlett-Packard will eventually get its own smartphone on the market as using a phone as a primary computing device becomes a mainstream.
HP chief executive Meg Whitman said during an interview with Fox Business Network that the PC giant is "working on" getting a new smartphone on the market.
"We are working on this," Ms. Whitman told Fox Business Network in an interview. "We have to ultimately offer a smartphone because in many countries of the world that would be your first computing device...we are a computing company."
She was also asked whether buying struggling mobile maker Research in Motion would match HP's strategy to enter the smartphone market, she said, "No, that is not a direction that we're going to head."
The firm previously offered some Windows Mobile devices, but ditched the operating system in favor of Palm, which was bought by HP in 2010. Former HP CEO Leo Apotheker said it would sell off the firm's Personal Systems Group, the division that makes webOS-based smartphones. HP reversed the decision, keeping its consumer electronics and PCs on the go, but also gave the open source community access to the application framework for webOS.
The PC giant also said earlier this year said it would cut 27,000 jobs in a bit to restructure the company as it aims to recover. According to Whitman, HP was around 20 percent of the way through the five-year global restructuring plan, and expects flat business and slow growth for the coming fiscal year.
"We are working on this," Ms. Whitman told Fox Business Network in an interview. "We have to ultimately offer a smartphone because in many countries of the world that would be your first computing device...we are a computing company."
She was also asked whether buying struggling mobile maker Research in Motion would match HP's strategy to enter the smartphone market, she said, "No, that is not a direction that we're going to head."
The firm previously offered some Windows Mobile devices, but ditched the operating system in favor of Palm, which was bought by HP in 2010. Former HP CEO Leo Apotheker said it would sell off the firm's Personal Systems Group, the division that makes webOS-based smartphones. HP reversed the decision, keeping its consumer electronics and PCs on the go, but also gave the open source community access to the application framework for webOS.
The PC giant also said earlier this year said it would cut 27,000 jobs in a bit to restructure the company as it aims to recover. According to Whitman, HP was around 20 percent of the way through the five-year global restructuring plan, and expects flat business and slow growth for the coming fiscal year.