CES may have been the perfect time for HP to announce phones and tablets, but the age-old PC maker decided not to get involved at the event, where their failed project webOS was brought back to life by LG.
Instead, the company wants to launch a Galaxy Note-like smartphone for $200 in the coming weeks. The 5.5-inch smartphone will apparently be cut down on specs to reach the $200 off contract price.
There have been rumors on HP smartphones hitting 6 and even 7-inch sizes, but they were supposed to have been released by now. Perhaps HP is preparing to launch a few at their own event sometime in the next few weeks.
Whatever the case, we cannot see the HP smartphone actually making waves against the Galaxy Note 3, simply because the Galaxy Note 3 is loved as one of the most powerful Android smartphones available, something the HP smartphone will not be able to achieve with a $200 budget.
The HP phablet may be a way for the company to grab some penetration in emerging markets, but we are not really seeing all that many low-end smartphone buyers grabbing large phablet devices.
HP has had little success in the mobile and tablet business, their webOS platform is now being used in LG TVs and the South Korean company has already done more than HP did with the platform.
Now the company is taking a shot at Android, but their Slate tablets and early smartphones have not yielded any success and the vast majority of products lack any imagination or exciting features.
There is a place for HP in the mobile world, but they really need to start figuring out how to make devices users want to use, instead of making devices similar to those already on the market.
The Galaxy Note 3 may be a prominent device, but to deliver a sub-optimal experience in the same size package is not a good way to sell your smartphone, even if HP are trying to appeal to low-end markets.
