Hewlett-Packard

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

Pavilion 14 Chromebook shows HP's 'multi-OS approach'

Moving its PC line beyond Microsoft's Windows operating system by embracing Google's Chrome OS, Hewlett-Packard today announced the $330 Pavilion 14 Chromebook.

Samsung and Acer were the first to offer Chrome OS devices, with Lenovo following suit. Now HP evidently believes it's worth jumping on the bandwagon for the browser-based operating system, describing the Chromebook as part of its "multi-OS approach."

"Google's Chrome OS is showing great appeal to a growing customer base," said Kevin Frost, general manager of HP's Consumer PC, Printing, and Personal Systems group. "With HP's Chromebook, … Read more

Obama backs immigration reform for skilled tech workers

Tech companies may score a victory in their hopes to get immigration reform passed for skilled tech workers.

President Obama urged Congress today to work on immigration policy that would allow foreign-born startup founders to stay in the country. At the same time, several U.S. senators introduced a bill focusing on the same. As U.S. immigration policy currently stands, U.S.-educated computer programmers and engineers could be deported once finishing school.

"Right now in one of those classrooms there's a student wrestling with how to turn their big idea -- their Intel or Instagram -- … Read more

Spec sheet shows HP entering Chromebook market

It seems Hewlett-Packard plans to follow Samsung, Acer, and Lenovo into the Chromebook market.

The company published a spec sheet for the Pavilion Chromebook 14-c010us that reveals a 4-pound model with a 1.1GHz Intel Celeron 847 processor, 16GB SSD, 14-inch LED-backlit display with 1,366x768 resolution, a Webcam, and three USB 2.0 ports.

It appears the device will ship in the coming weeks. The spec sheet, spotted by The Verge, lists an advertising embargo date of February 17.

"The HP Pavilion Chromebook gives you fast and easy access to the things you love and depend on, from … Read more

CEO of beleaguered HP made $15.4M last year

Meg Whitman, CEO of the struggling Hewlett-Packard, pulled in $15.4 million in compensation during fiscal 2012.

Her base salary may have been only $1, but, as reported by Reuters (which cited an HP filing made yesterday with the SEC), the former eBay chief and onetime California gubernatorial candidate was awarded a bonus of $1.7 million, along with stock options and the like valued at more than $13 million (most of which haven't yet vested).

The bonus was awarded under HP's "Pay for Results" plan, which considers performance benchmarks including revenue, free-cash flow, and achievement … Read more

At CES, two HP laptops do Windows 8 right

LAS VEGAS--At CES this week, Hewlett-Packard hardware got my attention.

Though the company has been savaged in the media because of dubious acquisition decisions and a falling stock price, its brief exhibition of new Windows 8 laptops and hybrids at CES was impressive.

I'll focus on two, the EliteBook Revolve and Spectre XT TouchSmart ultrabook-- both touch-capable Windows 8 laptops. The systems were fleetingly exhibited at CES by HP during an event at the MGM Grand event on Monday night.

I'll start with the Spectre XT TouchSmart because it was also at Intel's CES booth all week … Read more

Spy fears lead nuke lab to dump gear from HP unit, not Huawei

Los Alamos National Laboratory is reportedly removing network switches made by a partnership that once included controversial Chinese telecommunication gear maker Huawei because of national security concerns.

But Huawei, which was rebuked last fall by the House Intelligence Committee for posing a national threat because of potential ties to the Chinese government, hasn't been part of H3C Technologies, the partnership that makes the switches, since 2006, Reuters reported.

Huawei created H3C as a joint venture with 3Com in 2003. Three years later, 3Com bought Huawei's stake in the venture. And in 2010, Hewlett-Packard bought 3Com.

All of which … Read more

How Microsoft became a control freak with tablet makers

Microsoft wasn't taking chances.

The company was about to introduce one of its biggest operating system releases, and it needed its hardware partners to develop products that could genuinely rival the iPad and Android tablets.

Microsoft took control of partners working with the new Windows RT software that ran on low-power chips normally used for cell phones. It held regular meetings with the small group of companies in its development program and dictated to a large extent what the devices looked like. Details were everything. Microsoft even told one company to move the location of its Windows home key, … Read more