LG Acquires webOS From HP to Power Smart TVs

Surprise! LG has agreed to acquire webOS from Hewlett-Packard, potentially breathing new life into an operating system that was on the brink of death. Under terms of the deal, LG gains rights to the webOS source code, all related documentation and websites, and even a team of engineers. It's not known how much LG is paying for webOS, though the company did divulge its plans for the platform.

According to CNet, which broke news of the acquisition (no official announcement has yet been made), LG plans to use webOS to power a future generation of Smart TVs, not smartphones or tablets.

"It creates a new path for LG to offer an intuitive user experience and Internet services across a range of consumer electronics devices," said Skott Ahn, president and chief technology officer of LG Electronics Inc


The deal comes nearly three years after HP acquired Palm (and webOS) for $1.2 billion. Barely a year later, HP reportedly tried offloading Palm for the same price it paid, but having bungled the acquisition, there wasn't a buyer in sight willing to pay the asking price.

There's a lot of potential that remains in the webOS platform, and it will now be up to LG to tap into it. Here's hoping they do a better job than HP did.