It’s been a little while since we’ve heard any big news from our friends over at HP. The last big thing we knew was that HP was going to release an open-sourced version of webOS. Of course, we shouldn’t really expect to hear any big news since HP abandoned its own platform back in 2011. However, recent news has surfaced that HP actually plans to start creating tablets that run on Android, and may even create smartphones in the future running on the Google platform.

I think they need to keep their focus where they already started - Windows 8.

webOS was an underdog. Actually, HP as a whole was an underdog in the mobile world. They didn’t make terribly good sales and they didn’t have a huge following. Nonetheless, I thought the platform was still at least worth something. I used webOS on my Palm Pixi and I was lucky enough to purchase a TouchPad from the flash sale they had once they officially announced the end of webOS. I was looking forward to the Pre 3, but was sad to see that it never launched here in the United States.

As a company that withdrew itself from the mobile industry and now trying to finagle their way back in, I’m afraid they’re going to get lost in a sea of Androids. I mean, there are a lot of Androids out there already, and it’s easy for names to get lost in there. I understand that you really only have two choices seeing as both BlackBerry and Apple manufacture their own devices, but going straight for Android just seems like a bad idea to me. The Windows platform offers a lot more opportunity for HP, seeing as most people only have one company to associate with the platform when it comes to phones – Nokia.

I suppose both platforms have their risks. If you go with Android you risk being lost in a sea of competitive manufacturers, and if you stick with Windows you risk not being “at the top” – at least for a while. But it would take a lot of magic and convincing to get the company to top companies like Samsung or Apple as well.

Do you know what would help them succeed? A dual-boot.

If they created a device with Windows 8 or Windows Phone 8 and offered a dual-boot it would give them an advantage. Those who miss their webOS devices but want a platform that actually gets updates and gets paid attention to then this device would be perfect. I mean, it would be perfect for me, at least.

This idea is pretty far-fetched, and maybe it’s just something I want to see because I’m almost positive I will be getting a Windows Phone for my next upgrade and if I could get a phone that runs both Windows Phone 8 and webOS I’d snatch it up in a heartbeat; nothing wrong with a little nostalgia now and then. I’m sure HP knows which strategy is best and in reality they probably do have a better chance of succeeding by running Android (dual-boot with Android, maybe?) than Windows 8 but I have this thing were I like to see the underdog blind side the competition and just come up from nowhere to take the grand prize!

What about you, readers? Would you be interested in any of HP’s future mobile products, despite what platform they’re running? Would you prefer it if they offered a dual-boot or would you rather they just leave it out completely? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!