Citing “sources from notebook players,” Digitimes is reporting that Samsung is looking at buying webOS from HP. The move may have been triggered by Google’s acquisition of Motorola. Acquiring webOS would give Samsung its own mobile operating system should Google start to give preferential treatment to Motorola over its other Android partners.
HP recently announced plans to get out of the webOS hardware business. It has not been as clear as to its intentions for webOS itself but did confirm in the past that it was open to licensing it. A sale could certainly be another option.
It’s not clear what buying webOS would mean for Samsung’s own bada operating system. It could remain focused on lower-end phones or simply make way for webOS which can work on everything from entry-level smartphones up to tablets.
Samsung last week dispelled rumours that it was interested in buying HP’s PSG division but apparently recruited one of its key executives.