Bloomberg:HP to spin off PC Business - Page 5

GreenMonkey · 08-18-2011, 09:21 PM

Too bad, WebOS looked really nice.

I don't know why they expected they would quickly penetrate the tablet market (or re-penetrate, in the case of Palm for phones).

It was pretty obvious you were going to need a long-term investment to make your way in.

The whole thing seems kinda dumb now.

bobcdy · 08-18-2011, 09:51 PM

As far a buying another computer, I've bought an HP pc two years ago and like it much. However, as for service, forget about it after a short time - you have to pay to get help, as you do for any major player in pc sales. With my 6 year old Polywell computer, a dual core system, my most heavily used workhorse computer, I still can access personal advice from their tech assist about problems as they develop without any charge! The tech even returns phone calls if he's not available when I call. When I buy a replacement for it in another year or two, I'll undoubtedly buy another one from Polywell. Their computers are more expensive than the equivalent from HP but are extremely reliable and well designed; and their free tech assistance will be an important justification for a repurchase.

RockdaMan · 08-19-2011, 12:09 AM

This is a good editorial: http://www.splatf.com/2011/08/hp-apple/

Quote:

In all of these markets, the company that HP is chasing is Apple. The Mac is capturing the high end of the consumer PC market, the iPhone is capturing the majority of the mobile industry’s profits, and the iPad is the only tablet that matters.

Quote:

Ultimately, these look like the right moves. Yes, it might mean HP is smaller, and its future addressable markets aren’t as big or as cool.

But the alternative is worse: Running a money-losing tablet and phone business into the ground, watching a PC business suffer through a shrinking market, and not having the capital and time to focus on promising, new opportunities when they present themselves.

HarryT · 08-19-2011, 12:42 AM

This really shouldn't come as any great surprise to anyone. For many years, HP have been repositioning themselves as a software and services company, just as IBM, Fujitsu, etc, have. Hardware sales form a third of HP's revenue, but only around 10% of profit, and the Touchpad has been a disaster- despite recent price cuts, sales have been abysmal.

This move makes sense.

The other side of the coin is that HP are poised to buy Britain's largest software company, Autonomy, for a reported £6bn ($10bn).

leebase · 08-19-2011, 01:15 AM

It is tough to compete with today's Apple. Apple isn't leaving any room on price. Google has an interesting "we don't need to make money" strategy in Android. Of course, 12.5 billion dollars here and there billions more...just to provide software to give away. Interesting business plan.

Lee

HansTWN · 08-19-2011, 01:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by leebase

It is tough to compete with today's Apple. Apple isn't leaving any room on price. Google has an interesting "we don't need to make money" strategy in Android. Of course, 12.5 billion dollars here and there billions more...just to provide software to give away. Interesting business plan.

Lee

We all know that Google is dominating mobile search and advertising because of Android. The actual costs for Android are peanuts by comparison.

RockdaMan · 08-19-2011, 01:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HansTWN

We all know that Google is dominating mobile search and advertising because of Android .

A significant part of that mobile search revenue also comes from iOS.

Hellmark · 08-19-2011, 04:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

Apple? Who cares about Apple?? Apple doesn't make PCs.

Dang, who else makes decent PCs or do I now have to go find one of my little brother's friends to build all my PCs from now on?

How can you say that? If you mean personal computers, then you're wrong. if you mean "IBM compatible x86 computer capable of running windows", then you're wrong again. Just because they have their own OS, doesn't make their computers not PCs. Windows, Linux, or OSX run just peachy on an Apple.

boxcorner · 08-19-2011, 04:35 AM

HP to buy UK's Autonomy for $10bn

Hewlett-Packard agrees deal to buy Autonomy for £7.1bn
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14582489
19 August 2011

"The offer, which has been accepted by Autonomy's board, is 64% above the firm's market value."

Graham · 08-19-2011, 04:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hellmark

Just because they have their own OS, doesn't make their computers not PCs. Windows, Linux, or OSX run just peachy on an Apple.

Oh for goodness sake, people. It's quite clear from the context that Mrs Joseph was worried about replacing her HP Windows PC.

When you're looking for a Windows PC your immediate reaction is not 'I'd better buy a Mac so I can run Windows as an alternate operating system under Bootcamp'.

Graham

din155 · 08-19-2011, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Graham

When you're looking for a Windows PC your immediate reaction is not 'I'd better buy a Mac so I can run Windows as an alternate operating system under Bootcamp'.

Graham

Hope you are being sarcastic Graham..

din

din155 · 08-19-2011, 05:51 AM

It may not be a totally bad idea to sell of the PC business for HP. Maybe they saw Motorola getting 63% premium over the share prices from Google for the mobile division. Off course HP is not naive to wait for an example like this but maybe they saw the timing right. This obviously leaves the current users of Webos and HP laptops wondering about future of the support services for the devices they already own.
I hope it does not backfire them with their newest acquisition Autonomy. Especially after looking at the HP CEO’s statement of one year investment policy..

din

jocampo · 08-19-2011, 08:37 AM

Apple computers are expensive, so please keep that in mind. Not all people have over of 1k in order to spend on one. They are also backed up by a great marketing strategy. Not all Apple products are gold. Take for example Lion Os. Has been a real pain! Lot of bugs, people started to compare that to Microsoft Millennium or Vista disaster.

Now, with around 300 bucks you can buy a PC that later you can install Linux on it. They come with lot of ports and basically is easy to customize with little or no investment.

The issue is that people want good and low prices with good quality. When you are a big company and PCs are your smallest or less important market, it is not giving lot of revenue, then it is better to stop investing and move one.

Apple does not make servers or is into the services area. They sell consumer products, and are good on that, or have been.

It is going to be interesting how Apple will react to current USA market situation on 2012, because the slow market and bad economy is a reality and their prices are really high.

elcreative · 08-19-2011, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jocampo

Apple does not make servers or is into the services area. They sell consumer products, and are good on that, or have been.

Not true... Apple not only makes servers, they sell them as well as having systems to tie 'em together into ultra fast supercomputer arrays... try searching under "server" on the Apple site as I just did... didn't think they'd suddenly stopped their server production... not cheap but got a very good rep...

HarryT · 08-19-2011, 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcreative

Not true... Apple not only makes servers, they sell them as well as having systems to tie 'em together into ultra fast supercomputer arrays... try searching under "server" on the Apple site as I just did... didn't think they'd suddenly stopped their server production... not cheap but got a very good rep...

Interesting - I didn't know that either. Thanks for the info!

08-19-2011, 12:42 AM	#64
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	This really shouldn't come as any great surprise to anyone. For many years, HP have been repositioning themselves as a software and services company, just as IBM, Fujitsu, etc, have. Hardware sales form a third of HP's revenue, but only around 10% of profit, and the Touchpad has been a disaster- despite recent price cuts, sales have been abysmal. This move makes sense. The other side of the coin is that HP are poised to buy Britain's largest software company, Autonomy, for a reported £6bn ($10bn). Last edited by HarryT; 08-19-2011 at 01:20 AM.

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08-18-2011, 09:21 PM	#61
GreenMonkey DRM hater Posts: 945 Karma: 2066176 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Michigan Device: Nook ST glow, Kindle Voyage	Too bad, WebOS looked really nice. I don't know why they expected they would quickly penetrate the tablet market (or re-penetrate, in the case of Palm for phones). It was pretty obvious you were going to need a long-term investment to make your way in. The whole thing seems kinda dumb now.

08-18-2011, 09:51 PM	#62
bobcdy Fanatic Posts: 527 Karma: 1048576 Join Date: May 2009 Device: bebook; prs-950; nook simple touch; HTC Jetstream tablet	As far a buying another computer, I've bought an HP pc two years ago and like it much. However, as for service, forget about it after a short time - you have to pay to get help, as you do for any major player in pc sales. With my 6 year old Polywell computer, a dual core system, my most heavily used workhorse computer, I still can access personal advice from their tech assist about problems as they develop without any charge! The tech even returns phone calls if he's not available when I call. When I buy a replacement for it in another year or two, I'll undoubtedly buy another one from Polywell. Their computers are more expensive than the equivalent from HP but are extremely reliable and well designed; and their free tech assistance will be an important justification for a repurchase.

08-19-2011, 01:15 AM	#65
leebase Karma Kameleon Posts: 2,960 Karma: 26738313 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn	It is tough to compete with today's Apple. Apple isn't leaving any room on price. Google has an interesting "we don't need to make money" strategy in Android. Of course, 12.5 billion dollars here and there billions more...just to provide software to give away. Interesting business plan. Lee

08-19-2011, 04:35 AM	#69
boxcorner »(°±°)« Posts: 826 Karma: 775629 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: divisive reader	HP to buy UK's Autonomy for $10bn Hewlett-Packard agrees deal to buy Autonomy for £7.1bn http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14582489 19 August 2011 "The offer, which has been accepted by Autonomy's board, is 64% above the firm's market value."

08-19-2011, 05:51 AM	#72
din155 Guru Posts: 880 Karma: 7556602 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle PW, Win 10 thinkpad 8in	It may not be a totally bad idea to sell of the PC business for HP. Maybe they saw Motorola getting 63% premium over the share prices from Google for the mobile division. Off course HP is not naive to wait for an example like this but maybe they saw the timing right. This obviously leaves the current users of Webos and HP laptops wondering about future of the support services for the devices they already own. I hope it does not backfire them with their newest acquisition Autonomy. Especially after looking at the HP CEO’s statement of one year investment policy.. din

08-19-2011, 08:37 AM	#73
jocampo Layback feline Posts: 3,034 Karma: 6980745 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: USA Device: Oasis 2nd gen, Sony DPTS1, iPad Pro 10.5"	Apple computers are expensive, so please keep that in mind. Not all people have over of 1k in order to spend on one. They are also backed up by a great marketing strategy. Not all Apple products are gold. Take for example Lion Os. Has been a real pain! Lot of bugs, people started to compare that to Microsoft Millennium or Vista disaster. Now, with around 300 bucks you can buy a PC that later you can install Linux on it. They come with lot of ports and basically is easy to customize with little or no investment. The issue is that people want good and low prices with good quality. When you are a big company and PCs are your smallest or less important market, it is not giving lot of revenue, then it is better to stop investing and move one. Apple does not make servers or is into the services area. They sell consumer products, and are good on that, or have been. It is going to be interesting how Apple will react to current USA market situation on 2012, because the slow market and bad economy is a reality and their prices are really high.

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