LG to make its TV bet with webOS
HP made it clear that webOS was a thing of its past. The mobile operating system was short-lived under the control of HP, but that doesn’t mean it’s lost its value. HP has sold the rights to webOS to LG for an undisclosed amount, according to Reuters. The first question we had was “what does this mean for LG’s smartphone business?” Well, nothing quite yet.
It seems LG is actually looking to use webOS to deliver a unique TV experience. We’re not sure how the fabled operating system will stretch to bigger screens, but LG will have a long road ahead if it wants to resurrect webOS in a meaningful way. It’s unclear what this means for the future of Google TV under LG’s banner. LG has been one of the biggest proponents of the Android-based TV experience, stuffing the experience into a sizable portion of its smart TV line-up.
Some might say this gives us reason to be worried about the future of Google TV. If LG’s desire to use webOS has spawned from its inability to properly market the enhancements Google TV and leverage the technology to sell televisions it makes us wonder how many more major manufacturers feel this way.
Perhaps we’re just looking a bit too deep into this and LG simply wants to make sure its portfolio stays diversified. Whatever the case may be, we just hope LG doesn’t lose faith in Android and begin to go all in with webOS — we’ve started warming up quite nicely to its Optimus line as of late. We’re sure there’s nothing to worry about in that regard, but we have no choice but to keep the possibility of LG dropping out of the Android arms race in the back of our minds from this point forward.
[via Reuters]