HP to make Android smartphones, tablets?

HP is reportedly gearing up to produce a tablet and maybe a smartphone that is powered by Android. 

ReadWrite reported that HP will definitely release an Android-powered tablet in 2013 and this could be powered by the just-announced NVIDIA Tegra 4 chipset. While HP has said that it won't release a smartphone in 2013, the company has acknowledged that it does need to cover this segment because for many markets, the phone is the first and only computer. 

The move comes as the traditional PC market is in decline and tablets like the iPad and Kindle Fire cotinue to sell well HP is apparently looking to ride that wave of momentum and become a larger player in the future of computing. 

If this comes to be, it will be a fascinating approach to the mobile market for HP. Remember, HP spent $1.2 billion to buy Palm in 2010 and many expected it to make a major push with webOS. We even saw it introduce multiple smartphones and the TouchPad tablet running the webOS software. The company faced a lot of managerial turmoil though, as it has seen three CEOS since the webOS acquisition and it has kicked webOS to the open-source curb. 

I was a fan of webOS, its design and approach but the truth is that it was never good enough to compete against iOS and Android. Perhaps with HP's full might behind it, it could have evolved and competed well.

Still, HP has to get into the rapidly-growing mobile space, so producing an Android tablet wouldn't be that much of a leap. It's going to be tough to come into this market and push out the established players, particularly as we gear up for the next generation of iPad. 

[Via The Verge]