I’ve been thinking a lot about the webOS prospects recently. You may’ve read my rant on why Nokia should’ve picked Palm/HP’s rather than Microsoft’s mobile platform and now I want to make a case why HP should pitch Amazon to make a webOS-based tablet and how the two companies can help drive webOS forward. I have two reasons why a strategic deal between HP and Amazon could be beneficial for both companies.
1. Amazon Appstore – there’s no good reason to offer Android apps only
Amazon doesn’t have a mobile platform of its own and has no reasons to prefer one platform over another. All they (should) care is that the platform is open enough so they have a room to build and ultimately extract value. The online retail giant already offers Kindle app for most smartphones and tablets excluding Symbian, so why would their Appstore had to be “Android only”? I don’t think it should be that way and adding another platform like webOS could only bring benefits. Similarly, HP could take advantage from expanded offering and another channel for distributing apps – the fact that webOS developers should appreciate as well.
2. HP could help Amazon make webOS-based Kindle
On one hand this could be a huge win for HP as it would be able to get millions of users on to the platform. On the other hand, Amazon could ask HP to pick a part of the tab (i.e. pay a portion of the manufacturing costs) to ultimately make the Kindle tablet more affordable to the end users. The online retailer would still offer its application for other smartphones and tablets as well as the e-ink based readers.
Sounds like a plan! What do you think?