The TouchPad Is Dead; Is Adobe's Mobile Strategy Next?

这是iPad的又一次胜利.

7月初推出的惠普TouchPad即将停产. 惠普首席执行官李艾科(Leo Apotheker)表示，糟糕的销售是原因之一.

TouchPad基于WebOS操作系统, 去年惠普以1美元的价格收购了Palm.20亿年.

我最近的一位读者 Android /谷歌/摩托罗拉的文章 asked why I'd failed to mention WebOS along with 谷歌安卓 and Apple iOS.

就是你没有提到WebOS, the HP (former Palm) operating system mean you feel that it is a non-starter in this mobile world?大卫·丹尼尔斯问道. “他们有机会获得市场份额吗?"

我的回答是，WebOS是一个强大的操作系统, and the company's control of hardware and software was compelling in a way that only Apple could match.

The concern about market share came from the operating system sitting stagnant while HP digested what it had acquired, waited for new hardware that missed several delivery windows, and then priced the chunky TouchPad on par with the iPad 2 and Galaxy Tab 10.1平板电脑.

"It's up to HP to execute and convince consumers why they should opt for WebOS over Android or iOS,我回答说.

显然, this was impossible after the TouchPad was "poorly received" by the market, 李艾科说. He said HP made the "difficult but necessary decision to shut down WebOS hardware in Q4 2011, as sales would require significant investment over one to two years."

HP may leave consumer-facing products entirely: the HP board approved a strategic exploration of alternatives, which could result in spinning off the consumer laptop and desktop division.

惠普和视频:喜忧参半

不过，惠普并不一定要放弃视频领域.

The company found success in the video world with its Z series workstations, with its flagship Z800 series machines used for high-end video editing and forming the base hardware configuration for a handful of on-demand and live streaming server software packages that Transitions tested as part of last year's 2010 Best Workflows report.

In the home entertainment space, HP launched the HP MovieStore, powered by RoxioNow. 类似于iTunes Store, 但只能在TouchPad上使用, the HP Movie Store offered recent Hollywood blockbusters as well as TV shows for either rental ($2.99-3.99美元)或购买(9美元).95-15.95).

然而，执行上还有很多需要改进的地方. HP touted a buy-once-play-anywhere approach ("Order the movie on your TouchPad and watch it on your TouchPad or PC without paying again!"), but users had to buy it on the TouchPad and then transfer it to the PC — a cumbersome process at best.

Even more frustrating was the inability to send TouchPad video to a big screen, 这是Galaxy Tab和其他iPad竞争对手的主要产品.

"Having a tablet that costs $500+ without the ability to do video out with your freshly purchased/rented movies and TV shows really brings down the experience for TouchPad owners and further shows how much they're missing out when compared to other tablets,“Nothing But Tablets”的艾伦·施密特写道.

Looming is the bigger issue that HP may not find a hardware vendor to license the WebOS.

Apotheker said the company is exploring market opportunities, 但没有宣布硬件授权协议. 这导致了最初报告的严重混乱, as most journalists assumed the operating system was so tightly integrated with the hardware that WebOS would also be buried in a landfill with the 250,百思买将向惠普退还1000块未售出的touchpad.

Adobe多屏幕战略的终结?

Finding a licensee for WebOS isn't only in HP's best interest. 这对Adobe也很重要.

Adobe placed significant emphasis in its Flash mobile marketing strategy on the Flash Player being available on multiple platforms — from Android to RIM QNX to HP WebOS.

The fact that RIM's PlayBook and HP's TouchPad have both languished has to make Adobe nervous. 除此之外, both devices deliver sub-standard video experiences compared to Android-based tablets such as the Motorola Xoom (which is itself lagging — in both performance and sales — against Apple's iPad). The risk for Adobe is being boxed into an Android-only strategy and having to abandon the line that it's the solution for any platform (save iOS).

A full 80 percent of the tablet devices that Adobe showcased at last October's MAX event either never made it to market, 成功进入市场，却举步维艰, 或者进入市场后很快就被淘汰了.

The decisions by tablet manufacturers are out of Adobe's control, and it's possible that RIM's QNX and PlayBook might survive in a future hardware update. 这对Adobe来说是件好事, as it seems the company needs at least one hardware or firmware rev to optimize video playback.

然而,, the shrinking market for non-Apple and non-Android tablets has to worry a company that doesn't want to look like it's competing directly with Apple. 根据过去几天发生的事, 人们将关注今年的MAX会议, 十月初, to see if Adobe can shake the rapidly-forming perception that the Flash Player's mobile strategy relies strictly on Android.