LG Electronics Acquires webOS Operating System from Hewlett-Packard

From X-bit Labs: LG Electronics has acquired the webOS operating system technology from HP to support its next-generation Smart TVs. LG has entered into a definitive agreement with HP to acquire the source code, associated documentation, engineering talent and related websites associated with webOS.

As part of the transaction, LG also will receive licenses under HP's intellectual property (IP) for use with its webOS products, including patents acquired from Palm covering fundamental operating system and user interface technologies now in broad use across the industry. Today's announcement paves the way for continued innovation on the webOS platform and on LG's roadmap of innovative solutions for many years to come, while allowing HP to focus its resources on strategic business opportunities such as cloud computing, according to the companies.

"This groundbreaking development demonstrates LG's commitment to investing in talent and research in Silicon Valley, one of the world's innovation hotbeds. It creates a new path for LG to offer an intuitive user experience and Internet services across a range of consumer electronics devices. The open and transparent webOS technology offers a compelling user experience that, when combined with our own technology, will pave the way for future innovations using the latest Web technologies," said Skott Ahn, president and chief technology officer of LG Electronics.

Mr. Ahn explained that LG Electronics' investment in webOS technology and its acquisition of the innovation team's R&D capabilities are expected to extend LG's leadership in bringing Internet services directly to consumer electronics devices.

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