HP luring Android partners, Samsung said to be interested in webOS

HP’s Todd Bradley unveiled the family of webOS-driven smartphones and tablets in February 2011.

Samsung, the leading Android device vendor, is apparently considering webOS mobile operating system from Hewlett-Packard for use in their own devices, reports SlashGear citing unnamed sources. This doesn’t mean Samsung is ditching Android – the company has invested too much into the platform and it has been working out for them really well.

But the Korean consumer electronics powerhouse also has another mobile software of its own, called Bada, that is gaining share and popularity on so-called feature and mid-range phones, basically a cross between smartphones and dumb phones. Bringing another platform to the mix would enable greater choice, watchers say, which is the same argument Google uses to justify Android.

Coincidentally, Bloomberg also reported earlier today that HP’s CEO Leo Apotheker confirmed licensing talks with Asian vendors:

We are talking to a number of companies. I can share with you that a number of companies have expressed interest. We are continuing our conversations.

This jibes with what an industry source told 9to5Google, that HP has basically sent out their sales teams after several Asian vendors who are said to be increasingly dissatisfied with the fact that Google so far only approved four handset makers into the Honeycomb program for tablets. These companies, the source underscored, are annoyed that Google has begun exercising tighter control over the Android ecosystem, essentially shutting them out at a time when both HP and Microsoft are actively seeking hardware partners to support their struggling mobile operating systems.