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HP has clearly shown they are not good caretakers of WebOS. They best thing they could do is sell it off to someone who could make better use of it. Amazon? Alt

HP has clearly shown they are not good caretakers of WebOS. They best thing they could do is sell it off to someone who could make better use of it. Amazon? Although with the launch of the Fire, they're pretty much stuck on Android now...

stinkytaco 15y ago
I don't see why they're stuck on Android. The Android part is pretty hidden and if Amazon has shown an ability to do anything, it's to make wholesale changes without burning the place down. They also can sit on a property until they are ready for it (see: Slow integration of Audible, Goodreads). Indeed, it's possible they would like to get off Android to avoid being beholden to Google.
- cpeterso 15y ago
  What would Amazon gain from purchasing webOS from HP? I don't see much webOS value for Amazon except Palm patents (to defend the Kindle Fire from Apple patent attacks). Amazon has invested in their own Android App Market and then the Kindle Fire. They have the talent and money to support their own fork of Android (which seems like a possibility) if Google were to stop open-sourcing Android.
  - stinkytaco 15y ago
    Few days on, but I see it similar to how Google felt the need to make Chrome rather than to simply rely on Firefox. If you're selling a property (in this case web services and advertising), wouldn't you want to control every aspect of how that property is viewed? Google wanted to have full control over how users saw their product, so they can make a browser and fully support that browser with all the bells and whistles their product can conceivably offer through that platform. Amazon is the same way. Their device is secondary to the content they are offering, so why not be able to tailor that device fully to the content. The only way you can ever truly make that a reality is if you have your own platform. Of course, even if this is all wrong, it’s not like WebOS will cost that much money. It’s like Amazon picking up a book at the bookstore, it looks interesting, you probably won’t ever read it, but it looks pretty and doesn’t take up space and you can send it off to the thrift store in a couple of years.

stinkytaco 15y ago

I don't see why they're stuck on Android. The Android part is pretty hidden and if Amazon has shown an ability to do anything, it's to make wholesale changes without burning the place down. They also can sit on a property until they are ready for it (see: Slow integration of Audible, Goodreads). Indeed, it's possible they would like to get off Android to avoid being beholden to Google.

cpeterso 15y ago
What would Amazon gain from purchasing webOS from HP? I don't see much webOS value for Amazon except Palm patents (to defend the Kindle Fire from Apple patent attacks). Amazon has invested in their own Android App Market and then the Kindle Fire. They have the talent and money to support their own fork of Android (which seems like a possibility) if Google were to stop open-sourcing Android.
- stinkytaco 15y ago
  Few days on, but I see it similar to how Google felt the need to make Chrome rather than to simply rely on Firefox. If you're selling a property (in this case web services and advertising), wouldn't you want to control every aspect of how that property is viewed? Google wanted to have full control over how users saw their product, so they can make a browser and fully support that browser with all the bells and whistles their product can conceivably offer through that platform. Amazon is the same way. Their device is secondary to the content they are offering, so why not be able to tailor that device fully to the content. The only way you can ever truly make that a reality is if you have your own platform. Of course, even if this is all wrong, it’s not like WebOS will cost that much money. It’s like Amazon picking up a book at the bookstore, it looks interesting, you probably won’t ever read it, but it looks pretty and doesn’t take up space and you can send it off to the thrift store in a couple of years.