HP Looks To Benefit From Android OEM Woes

Samsung, Motorola and other makers of high-end Android smartphones have become frustrated enough with Google’s mobile operating system that it might open the door for another mobile platform player: HP’s webOS.

Samsung, HTC and Motorola are the leading Android smartphone makers, with all three enjoying market share gains versus Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s Blackberry devices in the past two years.

No differentiation

However, the advent of low-cost Android devices may be gradually changing the sentiment of good will toward Android.

Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdry said Motorola, Samsung and Sony are starting to feel that their premium handsets and tablets have little or no differentiation in the eyes of the customer against $20 (£12) Android phones from Huawei, or $150 tablets from ZTE.

These vendors further fear that Android and its fragmentation across multiple OS versions, carriers and devices may dilute their global brand.

Sony, Motorola and Samsung are “extremely worried” that customers are beginning to pick devices based on Apple’s iOS instead of their Android phones and tablets, Chowdry said.

“As things stand today, Android has probably peaked, and probably will start showing slow and gradual decline,” Chowdry added.

This opens the door for HP, whose chief executive Leo Apotheker has said the company might be amenable to licensing webOS to these handset and tablet makers.

Paid applications

WebOS would enable only two or three reference designs for only three or four OEM partners to limit the fragmentation that exists within the Android ecosystem, Chowdry suggested.

The analyst believes HP could license webOS for somewhere in the range of $50 to $75 per OEM smartphone or tablet, enabling the company and OEMs partners such as Samsung, Motorola and Sony to drive their premium brand at the expense of low-cost rivals such as Huawei and ZTE.

Moreover, since webOS is not free, the customer may be willing to pay for applications, making HP potentially a more viable OS option than Android to Apple iOS and the popular App Store.

However, tech analysts believe Chowdry’s scenarios are unlikely, citing Samsung’s strong commitments to Android on smartphones and Android 3.0 “Honeycomb” tablets, among other factors.

“While anything is possible with Samsung (they seem to do one of everything ever made), it’s unlikely HP would be that anxious to license WebOS, and it’s less likely that Samsung would want it without having a significant ecosystem in place to promote it (e.g., lots of apps and user demand),” industry analyst Jack Gold told eWEEK in an email.

Android OS replacement?

Gold added that he doesn’t see WebOS making it as a general Android OS replacement for vendors other than HP, which will, no doubt, push WebOS as being superior to Honeycomb.

IDC analyst Al Hilwa said there would be interest in an alternative to Android or Windows from other OEMs, but the value proposition has to be clearly defined.

“The key question for the platform owner is how to maintain a unified personality for the platform without allowing OEMs to fragment it with their own user interfaces and application frameworks,” said Hilwa. “My guess is some will be willing to look at an alternative, but it is hard to get the formula right.”

Clint Boulton eWEEK USA 2012. Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc. All Rights Reserved

Share
Published by
Clint Boulton eWEEK USA 2012. Ziff Davis Enterprise Inc. All Rights Reserved

Recent Posts

Is the Digital Transformation of Businesses Complete?

Digital transformation is an ongoing journey, requiring continuous adaptation, strong leadership, and skilled talent to…

7 hours ago

Craig Wright Faces Contempt Claim Over Bitcoin Lawsuit

Australian computer scientist faces contempt-of-court claim after suing Jack Dorsey's Block and Bitcoin Core developers…

8 hours ago

OpenAI Adds ChatGPT Search Features

OpenAI's ChatGPT gets search features, putting it in direct competition with Microsoft and Google, amidst…

8 hours ago

Google Maps Steers Into Local Information With AI Chat

New Google Maps allows users to ask for detailed information on local spots, adds AI-summarised…

9 hours ago

Huawei Sees Sales Surge, But Profits Fall

US-sanctioned Huawei sees sales surge in first three quarters of 2024 on domestic smartphone popularity,…

9 hours ago

Apple Posts China Sales Decline, Ramping Pressure On AI Strategy

Apple posts slight decline in China sales for fourth quarter, as Tim Cook negotiates to…

10 hours ago