LG purchases webOS from HP, will port operating system to Smart TVs
LG has announced today that it will be purchasing webOS from HP, giving the operating system a new home, again.
The operating system will get a third shot at life in smart TVs, says LG, who will not use it as a mobile OS.
As part of the deal, LG will acquire the source code for WebOS, all related documentation and engineering talent, and any related WebOS Web sites. Additionally, LG gets all HP licenses and any patents HP received from Palm.
HP purchased Palm for over $1 billion, completely mismanaged the operating system, and never released any viable products using the operating system. HP then relegated it to open-source, pretty much leaving it for dead.
“It creates a new path for LG to offer an intuitive user experience and Internet services across a range of consumer electronics devices,” added Skott Ahn, president and chief technology officer of LG Electronics Inc.
