On CE - For Dealers, Distributors and OEMs of Consumer Electronics throughout EMEA

Among the announcements of HP wanting out of the PC business lurks another piece of news-- HP kills its webOS device business.

Specifically, the TouchPad and all webOS phones (such as the Veer and the just released Pre 3) are on their way to the mobile graveyard.

webOS itself might still survive, should an interested buyer appears-- maybe a disgruntled Google partner is looking for an Android alternative?

HP acquired webOS from Palm last year for $1.2Bn, in a (one might say failed) attempt to break into the mobile device business with an iOS/Android rival.

The webOS dumping is only part of HP's great Garage Sale, where the company also seeks to sell off HP Personal Systems Group (its PC busness)-- if not its surely-valuable patent portfolio.

Go HP's Official Garage Sale Announcement

Go Out of the PC Business: HP's Garage Sale

HTC gets its 5th acquisition for 2011 with a 51% stake in US-based high-end headphone maker Beats Electronics.

Beats is best known publicly for its partnership with rapper & music producer Dr. Dre-- and best known inside the CE for Monster's role as maker & exclusive distributor.

HTC says it will release products carrying Beats technology by this year's end. But why is this mobile phone giant acquiring a headphone company?

As smartphones become more and more the multimedia devices of choice, HTC is looking for ways to distinguish itself. Embedding the Monster-driven audio technology will help HTC product-wise but displaying the Dr. Dre (and Lady Gaga) driven celebrity brand will help even more.

HTC believes this "cool" brand image will boost its appeal in markets beyond its home Taiwan-- and turn HTC into more of a lifestyle brand within the youth market.

HTC is not to be underestimated...any company that can enter the mobile phone business where giants compete and still rise to the 7th top seller (very close behind RIM and ahead of Sony Ericsson) deserves respect.

Go HTC Acquires Beats

Photo: Lady Gaga launches "HeartBeats" at IFA 2009 with Noel Lee (Head Monster) and Dr. Dre.

Google buys Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion...but is the real attraction the 24,500-strong patent portfolio or the chance to duplicate Apple's hardware success?

Gartner calls it "vertical integration" (building both software and hardware in-house from the ground up while owning a vast patent library). But this move could shake up the Android market, drive device makers that compete with Motorola to reconsider Microsoft, open doors for RIM's Blackberry brand or HP's WebOS, and inspire an Apple counter move.

The acquisition means Google is now be able to make a whole variety of devices-- not only smartphones and tablets, but also Bluetooth-based accessories and set top boxes-- a potential means for a more successful future Google TV device, no doubt.

Google now also owns Motorola Mobility's 3 manufacturing facilities and 91 factory leases around the globe.

However Google severely risks alienating its handset-maker partners (39 in all, including HTC, Sony Ericsson and LG), as it will now directly enter the hardware sales battlefield.

Google's Android partners might be saying they "welcome Google's commitment to defending Android and its partners," but one has to read behind the lines-- even as the company insists Android will remain an open-source platform and Motorola Mobility will be run as a separate entity.

Analyst predict the announcement might prove to be good news for Microsoft-- Pyramid Research says Google's partners will show "stronger commitment" to Windows Phone.

The only step left for the purchase is regulatory approval from the EU and other jurisdictions-- and hope it doesn't kick off more major antitrust investigations...

Go Google to Acquire Motorola Mobility

Go Official Google Blog: Larry Page on the Acquisition

Go Quotes from Android Partners

Go Google-Motorola: Everyone Gets a Trophy (Pyramid Research)

Fusion Garage-- maker of the stillborn JooJoo tablet-- announces its return to the mobile device business with a tablet and a smartphone, the Grid 10 and Grid 4.

Powering both devices is Fusion Garage's Android-based GridOS, which the company says "reinvents touch computing from the ground up" with a completely gesture-based interface.

The Grid 10 is a 10.1" tablet carrying nVidia's Tegra 2 processor and a 1366 x 768 resolution screen. Connections come through either Bluetooth, wifi or 3G, and the device includes a built-in video calling app (via 1.3MP front-facing camera) and Fusion Garage's Grid Shop app store.

Meanwhile the Grid 4 is a 4" handset, with a Qualcomm dual-core processor, 800 x 480 touchscreen, 16GB memory and x2 cameras (0.3MP front-facing, 5MP rear-facing).

The Grid 10 should be available this September, and Fusion Garage says the Grid 4 will be out by Q4 2011.

Go Fusion Garage