Hewlett-Packard

HP's Autonomy acquisition probed by U.K. regulators

Hewlett-Packard has a way of quietly announcing its dealings with Autonomy in its annual and quarterly regulatory filings.

In its quarterly report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today, the company announced that the U.K. Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into the alleged irregularities of HP's acquisition of Autonomy.

Here's what HP wrote in its filing:

As a result of the findings of an ongoing investigation, HP has provided information to the U.K. Serious Fraud Office, the U.S. Department of Justice and the SEC related to the accounting improprieties, disclosure failures … Read more

HP's Whitman: 'We're shifting resources from PCs to tablets'

Hewlett-Packard CEO Meg Whitman may have stated the obvious when she said today that HP is transferring its attention to tablets.

"We're shifting resources from PCs to tablets," she said during the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference.

"The market moved very fast to tablets and smartphones, and we've got to now manage that transition."

She continued. "And it's not that HP didn't try to manage that transition -- they did with the acquisition of Palm. But as you know under the previous [management] that took a little detour to … Read more

Patent suit takes aim at Apple, Dell, others over encryption

A security group has taken aim at some of the biggest computer and software makers, claiming their products infringe on one or more of its patents.

Maz Encryption Technologies, a Delaware company made up of two former employees of Maz Technologies, filed suits last week against Apple, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Toshiba, Fujitsu, Lenovo, and Research In Motion (now BlackBerry).

In seven separate complaints, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware, Maz accuses the companies of infringing on one or more of its three patents covering encryption and user authentication technologies -- low level security found in … Read more

HP chairman to meet with top investors over board spat

Hewlett-Packard chairman Ray Lane, along with three board members, will meet with some of his company's top investors to reassure them about the job they're doing, according to a new report.

Speaking to the Wall Street Journal in an interview published today, William Patterson, executive director of CtW Investment Group, a large HP shareholder, said that he and his supporters will lead a charge aimed at removing Lane and two of his fellow board members, John Hammergren and G. Kennedy Thompson, at the company's annual meeting on March 20.

That is, Patterson told the Journal, unless HP … Read more

HP's Whitman: No plans to break up company

During Hewlett-Packard's first-quarter earnings conference call, CEO Meg Whitman clarified the company's "better together" strategy.

"We have no plans to to break up the company," Whitman said, in response to a question from an analyst. "I feel quite strongly that we are better and stronger together."

She reiterated this was part of HP's "better together" strategy. In short, Whitman is saying that HP as a whole is more than the sum total of its parts.

There has been speculation in the past weeks that HP's board is reconsidering … Read more

HP beats expectations, raises outlook

Hewlett-Packard delivered better-than-expected first-quarter results, raised its outlook for the second quarter, and said it has "disruptive innovations" on tap in coming quarters.

The disruptive innovation comment from CEO Meg Whitman likely revolved around Project Moonshot, the company's ARM-based server designed for hyperscale environments.

HP reported first-quarter earnings of $1.6 billion, or 63 cents a share, on revenue of $28.4 billion, down 6 percent from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings in the first quarter were 82 cents a share. Wall Street was looking for first-quarter earnings of 71 cents a share on revenue of $27.… Read more

With Microsoft as tablet rival, will HP go Android?

If Hewlett-Packard introduces an Android tablet, the newfound rivalry with Microsoft will be one motivating factor, according to analysts.

"I can see why they would go down this route instead of sticking with Microsoft for everything," said Ben Bajarin, a principal at Creative Strategies.

That may be putting it charitably. "[PC makers] are pissed off at Microsoft. That's the general mood," said Roger Kay, principal analyst at Endpoint Technologies, referring to Microsoft's entry into the PC/tablet market with Surface.

Surface practically precluded HP from coming out with a Windows RT tablet based on … Read more

HP to make Android tablets, report says

Hewlett-Packard is doing an Android tablet too, according to a report from ReadWrite.

HP's first Android tablet will be a "high-end" affair based on Nvidia's upcoming Tegra 4 chip, according to the blog.

"It could be announced soon," the report said.

This would come about two years after HP's WebOS tablet debacle. In August of 2011, the company terminated its TouchPad only a month and a half after the device's introduction.

It also ended plans for a WebOS-based phone at that time.

HP had also been slated to make a Windows RT … Read more

HP considering company 'breakup,' says report

PC maker Hewlett-Packard is mulling over breaking up the company in a bid to return the maximum value to company shareholders, according to a report.

Citing unnamed sources, blog Quartz said company directors have "discussed the details of a possible breakup scenario," among other options.

However, one source close to the company, speaking to ZDNet, said HP wanted to "stay as one HP," seemingly dismissing the Quartz report.

The news outlet's sources say that there is no "overt pressure" to break up the company, and no definitive decisions have been made on the … Read more