Now that Hewlett-Packard has announced that it will be keeping its personal computer unit, tablets are back in the spotlight.
Specifically, those powered by Windows 8, which might have had an affect on HP’s decision to keep the PC group.
See also: HP: We’re keeping the PC unit
Newly-instated CEO Meg Whitman has evidently brought a new (and perhaps sorely-needed) perspective to HP, as evident during a conference call on Thursday.
“HP tries to do a lot of things. I’m a big believer in doing a small number of things and doing them really well,” said Whitman, adding that she and her team are deciding on “what are the real bets we’re going to make in 2012.”
Tablets, especially those for both consumers and enterprise customers, present a major opportunity. HP has a chance to take advantage of the growing “consumerization of IT” trend while it’s still in its infancy.
“Over time, companies are going to want employees to bring their own devices,” Whitman explained. “How do you control personal devices and security? We want to have products highly desirable by consumers and the CIO.”
Todd Bradley, executive vice president of HP’s Personal Systems Group, added that we’re in the “beginning stages in a new segment in personal computing” with tablets. Acknowledging that the tablet space is a competitive business that is moving very quickly, Bradley remained optimistic about the direction that HP is taking with this strategy.
“I think the work we’re doing with Microsoft is extraordinarily compelling,” Bradley asserted.
Besides mentioning more work with Windows 8 and trying to meet the challenge of bringing personal devices to the workplace, HP executives weren’t any more specific as to what products we will see. Nor are we likely to hear any major announcements before HP reveals fourth quarter earnings on Monday, November 21.
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