HP Might Retain PC Unit

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In a surprising turn of events, the world’s number one PC manufacturer by sales volume is reportedly likely to retain its PC business, amid new management and renewed trust from vendors and suppliers.

HP shook the technology business world by announcing it was spinning off its PC unit, and ending development in webOS, which it just recently acquired through the $1.2 billion Palm purchase. The move was seen as a change in focus from low-margin hardware to the now-lucrative business of enterprise services and cloud-based software.

But HP recent fired former CEO Leo Apotheker and with ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman now at the helm of the company, it seems HP is doing a 180-degree turn. Digitimes reports that HP’s channels — or, big corporate customers — are being forced to choose other brands like Acer, Asus, Dell and Lenovo due to growing unease over the HP brand with uncertainty about their PC business. Sources say Acer, in particular, has benefited from HP’s loss of customers, as the Taiwanese company has significantly increased ODM orders recently.

Likewise, sources familiar with ODM partners, such as Quanta, Invetntec, Foxconn and Wistron, are likely to regain confidence in HP as a brand if the company were to have a more definite plan as to how to proceed with its PC busines. Recall that management previously announced splitting up divisions between software and hardware to pave the way for licensing of its webOS intellectual property.

With these feelers, however, there is no indication whether HP plans to retain its mobile and tablet business. Its emptying of webOS-powered TouchPad stocks at firesale prices did much to boost the value of that particular tablet, although HP’s revenues took a hit with the heavily-slashed prices. But if there is enough demand, then HP might want to rethink spinning off webOS, too.