It looks like webOS is alive, well, and now in the hands of LG Electronics. Google TV may be another story, though.
LG just announced plans to buy webOS from HP, for use in the company’s next generation of smart TVs. Now, there’s no official word on what the company will do with Google TV. The manufacturer may opt to keep it, especially since it’s only in a few of LG’s current models.
However, the new announcement means that LG will take over the operating system technology, as well as the source code, associated documentation, engineering talent and related websites associated with webOS. LG will also get licenses under HP’s intellectual property for use with its webOS products, which includes patents from Palm.
That said, HP will keep ownership of Palm’s cloud computing assets, including source code, talent, infrastructure and contracts. The company will also continue to support Palm users.
“This groundbreaking development demonstrates LG’s commitment to investing in talent and research in Silicon Valley, one of the world’s innovation hotbeds. It creates a new path for LG to offer an intuitive user experience and Internet services across a range of consumer electronics devices,” says Skott Ahn, president and chief technology officer of LG Electronics Inc. “The open and transparent webOS technology offers a compelling user experience that, when combined with our own technology, will pave the way for future innovations using the latest Web technologies.”