And just like that the smartphone arena became a 4-way battle between Android, BlackBerry, iOS and Windows Phone. Today via press release HP dropped a bombshell: they are discontinuing development of webOS hardware, specifically webOS phones and TouchPad tablets.

In similar news, HP confirmed previous rumors that they are in fact looking at possible acquisition options for Autonomy Group as well as voicing interest in spinning off their PC business.

As for webOS — to say this is shocking is an understatement. As tech enthusiasts we’re greatly saddened. WebOS is a fantastic OS. Unfortunately thus far, neither Palm nor HP have been able to do much of anything exciting in regards to hardware. The fact we’re still looking for any U.S. release details for the Pre3 is pretty telling. Add to that the high profile departure of Jon Rubenstein as well as abysmal TouchPad sales and one could say “the writing is on the wall”.

So what now? HP will no doubt look to sell the fledging webOS platform and rights, unless of course they’re thinking of licensing the platform to third parties — a smart move. Given the recent announcement that Google is looking to purchase Motorola, we’d have to say some hardware manufacturer not happy with Googlerola’s new affair will make a move.

WebOS users: worried about your platform’s furture

Via: BusinessWire