webOS is a proprietary mobile operating system running on the Linux kernel, initially developed by Palm, which was later acquired by Hewlett-Packard. Palm, HP, and most commentators and sources utilize the style "webOS", as shown in the adjacent logo, and in HP resources, rather than "WebOS". webOS was introduced by Palm in January 2009 as the successor to Palm OS with Web 2.0 technologies, open architecture, and multitasking capabilities. The first webOS device was the original Palm Pre, released on Sprint in June 2009. In 2010, HP acquired Palm; webOS was described as a key asset and motivation for the purchase.
In February 2011, HP announced several new webOS devices, with various versions of the operating system, including the HP Veer and HP Pre 3 smartphones, running webOS 2.2, and the HP TouchPad, a tablet computer released in July 2011 that runs webOS 3.0. HP made the "difficult and, frankly, painful decision" that the Palm Pre, Palm Pixi, and their "Plus" revisions, would not receive over-the-air updates to webOS 2.0, despite a previous announcement of an upgrade "in coming months." In March 2011, HP announced plans for a version of webOS by the end of 2011 to run within the Microsoft Windows operating system, and to be installed on all HP desktop and notebook computers in 2012. On August 18, 2011, HP announced that it would discontinue production of all WebOS devices. It has also confirmed that all development and potential licensing for webOS will be terminated.
Palm webOS
