webOS On Every HP PC From 2012, As Firm Seeks Its "Lost Soul"

"HP has lost its soul" CEO Leo Apotheker has admitted, continuing the new exec's self-flagellatory tour as he attempts to make the lumbering PC manufacturer more competitive. After confessing that HP innovation "takes too long to get to market" last month, Apotheker told Businessweek that he would look to webOS to refresh the company's PCs. As of 2012, every HP PC shipped "will include the ability to run webOS in addition to Windows."

That integration will see webOS working alongside, rather than replacing, Windows however. HP has promised full integration of the two platforms, in a move that Apotheker believes will pull in more developers to the smartphone and tablet OS, and hopefully help the company differentiate its computers, printers and mobile devices.

Also on the agenda is pulling out promising developments from smaller groups and teams in HP, and helping to commercialise them. "You don't mandate innovation," he suggests, "people need to be a little more empowered in this place." A renewed focus on quality and home-grown software are promised, with Apotheker re-hiring quality-assurance experts that his predecessor Mark Hurd once fired.