After waiting four hours for HP to get back to us, we finally have a statement on whether those shiny new WebOS products will be heading our way soon. Sadly, it’s not good news.
Courtesy of Brad Swiney, PR Manager, Personal Systems Group, HP Australia, we have this official statement:
At a press event in the US overnight, HP announced a suite of WebOS products that, for the first time, give users a unified experience across a variety of devices. HP will not be launching these WebOS devices in Australia at the same time as the US and at this early stage cannot speculate on local pricing. Specific region and country availability details have not yet been announced, however HP will first be targeting markets where WebOS is currently available.
More details about the HP announcement and WebOS products can be found here: www.hp.com/go/webOSpresskit.
Forget the line about HP not launching WebOS devices at the same time as in the US – we’ve all been around long enough to know that we have to wait until the Americans have cool stuff before we get to buy it. But the line that HP will be targeting markets where WebOS is already available is like a knife through the heart of anybody who looked at this with starry eyes hoping it to be a viable iPad competitor.
It’s an ongoing flaw that consumer electronics companies make all the time – focus on a couple of large markets and forget the global opportunities. For a market that is attracting a lot of attention at the moment, failing to cater to worldwide demand (especially in a country with a high rate of early adopters), is a massive oversight from HP, just like it was a massive oversight from Palm.
But of course, those who really want one will still find a way…