RUMOR: HP getting out of the PC business?

[Indrek]

Market share remains healthy, just behind Apple

Just behind? Way ahead, more like.

There goes my 3 year warranty...I was wondering why Elitebooks were so much cheaper than Thinkpads and Precisions. I guess HP doesn't plan on honoring warranties for the full term.

What exactly makes you think that HP isn't going to honour warranties? As said before in this thread, IBM continued to honour theirs even after selling their PC line to Lenovo. I see no reason why HP shouldn't do the same. Provided that they're actually going to go through with it, of course - the official word is still only "considering".

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/pr...=rss-corp-news
Reading through the official announcement, it seems that selling the PC division is just one possible alternative. They could very well just split it off into a separate company.

[linuxwanabe]

Unfortunately its no rumor, CNN article there goes another great PC making company (right after IBM) I bet Michael Dell has a big smile on his face now. I just cant believe that they think the personal computer section is not bringing enough profit, after all they are number one in the world by sales of PC's

Michael Dell doesn't have much of a reason to smile when you consider Dell's quarterly numbers. HP is spinning off the PC business at a time when it leads in marketshare, if you don't count the iPad as a PC, but trails in profits. Dell also isn't very profitable and hasn't been successful in the tablet market. I don't see any reason for joy at Dell.

[linuxwanabe]

Just behind? Way ahead, more like.

HP is way behind Apple is you count the iPad as a PC, or fairly close, if you compare Macs to HP PCs, although it's clear that Apple has huge margins and much, much higher average transaction prices.

[Indrek]

HP is way behind Apple is you count the iPad as a PC

I don't, because it's not.

or fairly close, if you compare Macs to HP PCs

The only way "fairly close" would accurately describe the situation is if it were used something like, "Apple is fairly close to having a quarter of HP's market share".

[detusueno]

I don't, because it's not.


The only way "fairly close" would accurately describe the situation is if it were used something like, "Apple is fairly close to having a quarter of HP's market share".

Who cares about marketshare! The important question is: who's making the most profit?

...and why not? The iPad 2 costs 500-800. What's the average selling price of a HP laptop?

[Indrek]

The important question is: who's making the most profit?

I don't know, and I don't care, because I'm not a shareholder. I was merely correcting linuxwanabe's erroneous statement.

[Bullit]

Big mistake. In a crisis it is better to have wider appeal than to be restricted.

[ARom]

if HP gets out of the consumer pc business will our warranties still be covered?

[Mitlov]

Big mistake. In a crisis it is better to have wider appeal than to be restricted.

I disagree. It's better to do a few things right than a lot of things just-a-bit. Same reason Ford spun off the Premier Auto Group (Volvo, Land Rover, and Jaguar), killed one flagging division (Mercury), and used the capital to reinvest in improving the core products (Ford and Lincoln). Worked out great for them.

Substitute Personal Services Group for Premier Auto Group, TouchPad for Mercury, and printers/servers for Ford/Lincoln. The business makes perfect sense.

And note: Volvo, Land Rover, and Jaguar did NOT go away. Instead, they were spun off to Chinese and Indian companies who had the capital to invest in new strong products, but needed a foot in the door in the North American market. I fully expect the same will happen with the Pavilion, Envy, ProBook, and EliteBook divisions.

[Falco152]

Huh??? BBC said it's confirmed ....

BBC News - Hewlett-Packard to exit computing and buy Autonomy

Hewlett-Packard has confirmed plans to stop making PCs, tablets and phones, in order to refocus on software.

I'm confused