LG Buys WebOS For Use in Smart TVs

After HP bought Palm in 2010, the company promptly proceeded to run the webOS operating system into the ground with a series of lackluster products. The HP TouchPad was the company’s final offic...
LG Buys WebOS For Use in Smart TVs
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  • After HP bought Palm in 2010, the company promptly proceeded to run the webOS operating system into the ground with a series of lackluster products. The HP TouchPad was the company’s final official webOS product, and the company ended up dropping the tablet’s price to $100 after it became a marketplace failure.

    In December of 2011, HP announced that is would publish the webOS source code and open-source it for developers who might want to use it. It was an honorable, yet disappointing ending for a mobile OS that was generally well-loved.

    Today, as the Mobile World Congress is just beginning, CNET has broken the story that webOS may have been resurrected: LG has bought webOS from HP. According to the report, LG has purchased the webOS source code and all webOS-related patents, as well as webOS web sites, “related documentation,” and “engineering talent.”

    LG isn’t looking to switch its smartphone lineup to webOS, though. Instead, the company told CNET that webOS software will be repurposed to power LG’s lineup of smart TVs. LG stated that a new location in Sunnyvale, California called LG Silicon Valley Lab will be headed by whatever is left of the “webOS team.”

    No price has been mentioned for the deal, and HP has not yet commented on it. It is also unknown whether the Chubby Checker lawsuit will be affected as a result.

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