Hewlett-Packard Company (HPQ) Decides to Take the Obvious Path, Finally!

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The company is working hard to get smart devices ready and running. According to several analysts and industry experts, HP’s latest tablet device, the Elite Pad 900, aimed at businesses, may turn out to be a strong contender for Apple’s iPad and other Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android powered tablets, especially those from Samsung.

(Source: Economic Times, Laptopmag)

While there are rumors that HP is working on devices that will sport the popular Android platform, available pictures in the web and the company website tells us that the Elite Pad 900 will actually run on Windows 8 platform. This seems logical because HP has always recommended Windows for its PCs, and since the device is aimed at the enterprise market, what better OS can there be than Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s platform? This being the situation, the device will also be in direct line of competition with the Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) Surface and other touch-enabled ultrabooks and hybrid PCs. Apart from this device, HP is also working on the HP Envy x2, a hybrid PC with the advantages of a laptop and a tablet in one.

Though there is no announcement of HP devices on Android, we certainly cannot rule out that option. The reason being, HP is looking at a fast paced recovery. If it sports only Windows platform, its smartphones and tablets may witness very slow growth. Secondly, Nokia Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:NOK) already controls a major chunk of the WP8 market and may soon launch its own tablet device as well. Until now Nokia has been receiving special attention from Microsoft and that can be expected to carry on. Thus, banking solely on Windows doesn’t look like a very viable option. On the other hand, Android is a sure shot path to a better performance. If HP can offer good devices on Android at an acceptable price, consumers will surely flock towards that also.

Chances are that HP might shift its focus from PCs to smartphones and tablets. But, that doesn’t mean HP will shun the PC business. Meg has no such plans and she considers the division to be important for the company. However, the need of the hour is to improve the performance and the financials of the company, and thus moving to the new generation connected devices is the logical choice. Meg has a five-year turnaround plan and she wants investors to be a little patient as she and her 300,000-plus employees work towards building products that are relevant to the changing nature of IT. The ultimate aim of Meg is to position HP as a solution for the new style of information technology.

The article HP Decides to Take the Obvious Path, Finally! originally appeared on Fool.com.

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