HP pledges printer support for webOS

HP's webOS is not completely dead, as HP will continue to sell the Veer and support the TouchPad tablet with updates, writes Tom's Hardware.

The company is also honouring its commitment to bring webOS to PCs and printers. WebOS chief Stephen DeWitt says webOS is going to be a popular platform on a variety of connected devices.

The outlook seems somewhat unusual given that HP publicly nuked its plans to continue development of smartphones and tablets based on its just-acquired webOS software. And right now it seems that the platform itself has been put 'on hold' although it is expected to appear on PCs and printers possibly next year.

“The WebOS is not dead” and “we're going to continue to evolve it, update and support it. We stand by it,” Technorati quoted DeWitt as saying.

“The whole world isn't just about tablets and phones...there are going to be appliances of so many different sizes and shapes in the future that are going to require a human interface for data,” said DeWitt, sounding like a very confident man after a very devastating news.

Even if HP clearly said the webOS will live as an open platform, it's still not clear what will happen to the webOS platform, if HP will licence it or sell it to another company.

Among the strategic options for the software are the creation of partnership and licensing deals with manufacturers, DeWitt said, according to PC World.

He maintains that the OS has a life beyond tablets and smartphones and may be attractive to companies in the fields of finance, transportation, and retailing.

“There are going to be appliances of so many different sizes and shapes in the future that are going to require a human interface for data,” he says.