This was carefully planned that is for sure, no way that the decision makers will come out with a loss from this move.
I think it's a smart move. Not sure if it'll work, though. Personally I've enjoyed just about Hewlett-Packard product I've ever used. I just don't think they have the brand identity to increase their market share, no matter how many changes they make. I'm a definite fan of the company. When I used PC's in the past, that's usually what I used. But now I've made the switch to Apple products.
I don't think HP would make such a bold move if they had any doubts that it would be a resounding success. We might be thinking about this right now but I'm sure they have been crunching the numbers for a long time and this is the best solution for them.
I'm not sure your single opinion is a good gauge of HP's innovation and laptops. The fact of the matter is that the company has been in the top three of computer manufacturers by market share for a decade now. As for battery life, the HP Chromebook (indeed a laptop) gets around 6.5 hours of battery life, an above average figure. HP is like every other computer manufacturer with big hits and big misses.
I hope they choke to death on their stocks... HP owes me a charger for my laptop The first time I called was like 5 years ago. I bet that if call today, they'll tell me that it must be arriving anytime soon. What happens to people who own HP stock in this case?
HP has certainly been taking a beating on the hardware front whereas IT / services tend to have huge margins. Certainly makes sense to cut off an arm to save the rest of the body and I can't say I'm too optimistic about their hardware division. These guys have really been on the decline since Hurd left and of course the webOS debacle.
