[richip]

I would LOVE to see htc pick up open webOS...

but I think it would make more financial sense for them to stick with android and increase their windows phone devices. Their att windows phones have received good reviews thus far.

Just based on their performance, sticking with what they have would result in even more market loss. Currently, it seems the biggest Android winners are Samsung and Motorola. Motorola's only poised to get better and I'm not sure what HTC can do to overtake Samsung.

The same applies on the Windows front: with Nokia in bed with Microsoft, there's not much of a chance HTC can take a bigger slice of the currently small pie that is WP8.

webOS makes sense, but it's a huge risk. HTC would have to go at it alone marketing their phone as well as the OS it's running on. It's one course that could result in potential market share, but the initial investment is huge.

[LuckyPhoenix]

I think the best chance we have of seeing another webOS device is definitely from Chinese manufacturers when it is finally open sourced. There are large amounts of "smartphones" coming out of China with winmo 6.5 for years. Then you get the more premium companies like Meizu who decides to make a name for themselves and build quality devices. There will likely be another Meizu coming out of China, who doesn't care that there's no ecosystem. There is no ecosystem in winmo either, but there are plenty of hardware for it. You make a device that people want, and the apps will come. Another possibility is that when it is open sourced, that the community or HP itself will make it faster and lighter with more intuitive ideas to build around. When that happens, I would think that HP will take the chance and manufacture more hardware for it again.

[peterdev]

I hear its an American company.

[C-Note]

Just based on their performance, sticking with what they have would result in even more market loss. Currently, it seems the biggest Android winners are Samsung and Motorola. Motorola's only poised to get better and I'm not sure what HTC can do to overtake Samsung.

The same applies on the Windows front: with Nokia in bed with Microsoft, there's not much of a chance HTC can take a bigger slice of the currently small pie that is WP8.

webOS makes sense, but it's a huge risk. HTC would have to go at it alone marketing their phone as well as the OS it's running on. It's one course that could result in potential market share, but the initial investment is huge.

I totally agree with you, BUT... the market landscape has changed and the changes are not in the favor of webOS. It is a normal reaction to tighten up and go conservative when the competition gets fierce and the stakes get high.

In football, it is the "prevent defense" at the end of a tight game. In radio, it's "tightening the playlist" in response to competition. Problem is, those methods only work by attrition, if the other side runs out of time or money first.

An imaginative company would get in back channel discussions and beat them into a favorable deal for webOS with a back loaded deal dependent on success. However HP is probably too greedy to do this (reports indicated their asking price was so high is dissuaded the few who might have had an interest in a deal). HP has little to lose in such a deal, but less to lose by doing nothing since the damage has already been done and assimilated by the market.

The economy does not lend itself to bold chance taking. With once high flying tech companies coming to near collapse with shocking regularity, no CEO want to "be THAT guy" who was at the help when a once successful company tanks. webOS is now a longer shot than ever, unless someone is REALLY willing to commit for the long haul. Who really wants to set themselves up to be the next "Uncle Leo"?

C