HP will not make a smartphone on 2013, Meg Whitman says at the Gartner Symposium ITxpo 2012-- instead, the company is "more concerned about the pads."
Next year, HP hopes to become a force in tablets-- but not within the consumer market. Instead, the company will concentrate on the (perhaps) more lucrative enterprise market.
"The longer we go without a business-compatible Microsoft solution, the bigger the effort to force the iPad into businesses," Whitman says. She also suggests the Surface is not the most ideal for enterprise, meaning it won't compete with HP offerings such as the recently revealed ElitePad 900.
The HP CEO also says the company will remain committed to staying in the PC business, confirming the first big decision (one involving a 30-day review by a team of 100) taken when she replaced her predecessor, Leo Apotheker.
"[PC] is nearly a $40 billion business," Whitman concludes. "We're still No. 1 in the marketplace."
When it comes to smartphones, HP will only take on the market from 2014 onward, since Whitman also claims "...we've got to, I believe, have the full array of devices." Whitman gives no further details on the future smartphone plans, meaning the OS of HP choice (webOS? Windows Phone? Android?) remains a mystery.
Whitman already mentioned HP has mobile plans last September in an interview with Fox Business.
Will HP enter the smartphone race too late? Perhaps, but then again one can never really guess which route the crazy smartphone market will take...
