HP will “aggressively attack” both the smartphone and tablet markets, according to Jefferies analyst Peter Misek recent note to investors.
“While the move makes sense strategically, we see it as a high risk move,” Misek explained. “On top of adding costs and working capital burdens to an already stressed balance sheet, there could be additional write-offs.”
HP’s last attempt to enter the mobile space was a short-lived one. Just around a month after it launched the webOS-based HP TouchPad, the company pulled the plug on webOS, cancelled its HP Pre 3 project, all under the strong influence of then CEO Leo Apotheker.
Newly appointed Meg Whitman seems to renew HP’s somewhat lost focus in consumer products and the mobile industry and we can only hope the company brings a great Android device, competition is always welcome.