HP Stays Clear of Android, Might Make Windows 8 Tablets

HP's TouchPad has made the news more than once over the past few days, but it looks like the company might have more in store for the segment, eventually, though Android is apparently a no go. The tablet market, given the way things are going, will continue to increase in terms of how many different models there are on sale and how many shipments are carried out.

For HP, this means, at least for now, that it has to make sure the TouchPad stays on prospective purchasers' options lists.

Still, it stand to reason that the company will have to start making new models sooner or later, if it hasn't already.

Speculation on whether or not Android would come into play naturally exists, but the outfit seems more than disinclined to do anything of the sort, what with having converted Palm's webOS into a tablet software just so it didn't have to rely on Google's OS.

Sure enough, a recent report again states that the world's leading PC supplier will steer clear of Android, though the same cannot be said about Windows 8.

It is more that likely that, like Intel, HP will keep a very close eye on Microsoft's development of the next-generation operating system.

As such, tablets loaded with it could arrive in the future, though it ultimately depends on whether or not its potential customers will show an overwhelming preference for it over webOS and whatever improvements the outfit makes to it in the meantime.

"I'm limited to what I can talk about with Windows 8," said Phil McKinney, president and CTO of HP's personal systems group.

"We're working very closely with [Microsoft], and I'm going to leave it at that or I'm going to start getting myself into trouble.”

“If we have a huge customer base that says we need a Windows 8 tablet, by all means, we'd listen," added Richard Kerris, VP of worldwide developer relations for WebOS.

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