$99 HP TouchPad Sale: webOS Division Getting Shut Down; Future TouchPads to Run Windows 8?

By Elton Jones, Christian Post Reporter Friday, October 28, 2011

HP has just announced that its webOS division is now officially closed down.

This news comes courtesy of The Guardian, who HP told yesterday about its webOS division's future being undecided. HP made another announcement of the closing soon after.

HP acquired its webOS division after purchasing it for $1.2 billion in April 2010, when it bought Palm.

Other webOS devices, such as the Pre 3 and the HP Veer, have failed for the company as well. These losses may have also played a part in the closing of the division.

The webOS division closing could possibly lead to the loss of 500 jobs. One of the workers within the division stated that, "There's a 95% chance we all get laid off between now and November, and I for one am thinking it's for the best."

This latest announcement from HP comes on the heels of the company's latest push to do a final sales run of its computer tablet, the HP TouchPad.

Up to 200,000 HP TouchPad tablets will be delivered in a late October production run to satisfy "unfulfilled demand" of the discontinued device.

The HP TouchPad's first retail run was considered a failure. It wasn't until the device's fire sale that sales for the tablet picked up.

With news of the company's testing of Windows 8 for the tablet, this may explain the move away from webOS.

The company is still planning to create its line of PC's, however.

Through a statement on the company website, HP explained its reasoning behind this move. It said that the "continued combination of HP and its Personal Systems Group [is] expected to deliver greater customer and shareholder value."

Meg Whitman, HP president and chief executive officer, offered another statement: "HP objectively evaluated the strategic, financial and operational impact of spinning off PSG. It's clear after our analysis that keeping PSG within HP is right for customers and partners, right for shareholders, and right for employees."

Former HP executive Leo Apotheker devised a plan to shut down the PC division, but that move was reversed instead.

Apotheker was fired from the company last month.