Multiple reports today have confirmed that HP has resumed production of tablets after halting such production last year in the wake of its decision to end hardware support for webOS-based devices. The immediate halt to production came as a result of disgraced former CEO Leo Apotheker, who also made the calamitous and nearly company destroying move to spinoff the PC division in favor of an increased focus on software at the expense of every other division in the company, which led to his eventual ouster at the hands of the board.
The confirmation today also comes as CEO Meg Whitman also announced plans to merge the Southeast Asian PC and printer divisions of the company into one singular unit to better manage internal projects and management. The merged division would also serve as a springboard to focus on the three largest markets poised for growth in the PC sector, with Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia being targeted with the internal operations merger.
EVP of Personal Systems Todd Bradley also gave out key details regarding HP’s future Windows 8 tablets, remarking that the tablets would focus on cloud-based technology to enable media sharing and document storage, but declined to give further details. The first tablets running on the new operating system are expected to be released in late Fall of this year in time for the holiday shopping season, though OEMs are revealing few details at the moment, as Microsoft is also launching Windows 8 for desktops in a similar timeframe.
Looks like Microsoft paid HP just like they did with Nokia. Anyway to find out?