HP to Add WebOS to Every PC

Apotheker said he is aiming to boost the number of products that run WebOS to "create a massive platform" on smartphones, tablets, PCs and even printers. To date, WebOS, which runs on Facebook's line of smartphones -- the Pre 3 and Veer -- as well as its new TouchPad tablet, has a mere 6,000 apps. By comparison, Apple has 350,000 programs and Google's Android has 250,000.

HP has decided to go it alone with WebOS, backing its own operating system, as other companies like HTC or Motorola choose to adopt Android as their platform of choice. With a limited selection of WebOS products, programmers are less likely to develop apps for the ecosystem.

Programmers develop apps that they can sell. And that means they usually gravitate to the platform that is most popular, which is usually Apple or Google. Several handset makers, like Motorola and Samsung, have staked their turnaround efforts on the popularity of Android, while many others, like Sony Ericsson, are attempting to do the same.

All this has pushed Android towards being the world's most widely-used mobile platform, now in a neck-and-neck tie with iOS and BlackBerry.

Even RIM has reportedly been creating software that would let its PlayBook tablet run Android apps, a move that would boost the number of compatible programs to compete with the iPad.

Whether HP, by itself, can push WebOS as a competitive platform remains to be seen. It is adding it to each PC, but even that may not be enough.