HP’s Tablet Plans Likely to Include Palm WebOS, Not Microsoft

Palm’s WebOS mobile platform was said to be a list-topping asset, when the smartphone maker went shopping for a purchaser. And indeed, following the April 28 announcement that HP will acquire Palm for $1.2 billion, analysts are agreeing that WebOS was a major factor in the decision, particularly as it could potentially help HP compete more effectively in the growing tablet market.

Additionally, while a tablet running WebOS would diversify HP’s mobile offerings and arouse new interest, it could potentially strain the PC leader’s longtime relationship with Microsoft – with which it has previously developed tablet PCs.