Among the flurry of news gusting out of MWC 2013 in Barcelona today, LG and HP have inked an agreement to transfer ownership of the open source webOS.
In joint press releases, both companies confirmed LG's purchase of the Palm-created and largely left for dead operating system from HP in a deal of undisclosed details.
After ditching the webOS-based TouchPad, HP is seemingly allowing the black sheep system to live on under a new owner.
LG's plans for its buy, at least to start, will center on the living room.
"To support its next-generation smart TV technology, LG has entered into a definitive agreement with HP to acquire the source code, associated documentation, engineering talent and related websites associated with webOS," the press release read.
Deal deets
In addition to the aforementioned, LG will also pick up licenses under HP's intellectual property, including patents from Palm that cover the fundamental operating system and user interface technologies.
HP may be the happiest of all as it releases the OS, cutting ties with a side of the operating system that it couldn't get off the ground while retaining ownership of Palm's cloud computing assets, including source code, talent, infrastructure and contracts.
"Today's announcement paves the way for continued innovation on the webOS platform and on LG's roadmap of innovative solutions for many years to come, while allowing HP to focus its resources on strategic business opportunities such as cloud computing," the release read.
Could we see the OS appear in smartphones at some point? We're waiting to hear back from LG if that's in the cards.
With the deal, LG plans to add Sunnyvale, Calif. and San Francisco, Calif. locations to its existing R&D cites. It's already set up shop in the U.S. in San Jose, Calif. and Chicago.
Under the agreement, LG will assume stewardship of the open source projects of Open webOS and Enyo. And Palm users need not fret they'll be left in the lurch: HP will continue to support them.
Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/software/operating-systems/webos-flies-the-coop-finds-new-home-with-lg-and-its-smart-tvs-1133703
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