HP Planning To Roll Out webOS-Based Products

HP plans to release a number of devices based on webOS over the next year, said Rahul Sood, CTO of global gaming at HP, in a Tuesday blog post.

"You will certainly see products released over the next 12 months, some sooner than others, and some which are very exciting to me. The stuff that excites me the most is the new form factors," Sood said in the blog post.

Perhaps to avoid stirring up further industry speculation, Sood clarified that the webOS product rollout would be a continual process that will take place in stages.

"Now, when I said 'over the next 12 months,' I really mean over the next 12 months. Not at the end of 12 months, not tomorrow… but over the next 12 months we will see the makings of a new portfolio and the beginning of something great again," Sood said in the blog post.

Palo Alto, California-based HP closed its acquisition of troubled smartphone maker Palm in July, and revealed its intention to deliver webOS on both smartphones and a range of other Web-connected devices shortly thereafter.

HP has dealt with significant internal turmoil in recent weeks with the chain of events resulting from Mark Hurd's sudden departure as CEO. Last month, Hurd, who oversaw a turnaround in HP’s fortunes, resigned following allegations of sexual harassment and his admission of having claimed personal expenses as business ones. Hurd was known for working closely with channel partners and improving margins by cutting costs.

In order to maintain the pace of innovation, HP continues to seek expansion into new areas through acquisitions, including the purchase of 3Par, a software and virtual storage company based in Fremont, Calif., as well as Denver-based database and application automation developer Stravinia, U.S.-based, IT operations management company Fortify Infrastructure Service and, earlier this week, security and compliance software provider Arcsight.

For those who might think that HP has lost some of its momentum in the wake of Hurd's departure, Sood reiterated HP's commitment to innovation.

"I don’t believe the 'window of opportunity' ever really closes in this business," he said, adding "as long as there’s innovation, there’s always a window in."