HP’s $99 webOS-powered TouchPad tablets may have (belatedly) flown off the shelves at retailers across the United States, but Samsung remains utterly unimpressed by the latest turn of events.
Although previous rumors suggested Samsung could snap up HP’s ailing webOS division, Chief Executive Officer Choi Gee Sung rebuffed such speculation, emphasizing that his South Korean-based company would “never” pursue such a deal.
The comment, made to reporters at IFA 2011 in Berlin, was later confirmed by Nam Ki Yung, a spokesperson for Samsung in Seoul, who told Bloomberg the quote was accurate.
“It’s [really] not right that acquiring an operating system is [simply] becoming a fashion,” Choi said. ”[But we are working to optimized BADA] harder than people outside think.”
The lack of interest in HP’s apparently moribund OS highlights the difficulties faced by companies attempting to compete with Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS.
The two operating systems – which are already quite entrenched – boast vibrant marketplaces brimming with apps alongside legions of loyal fans.
Clearly, Android and iOS will remain on top of the mobile market for many years to come, unless a viable challenger manages to marry next-gen hardware with a slick UI that puts Apple and Google to shame.
Sure, Microsoft and Nokia may be able to pull it off with Windows Phone 7 (and that’s a big “if”), but only time will tell for certain.
