MobileBeat has an interesting article this morning reporting that Amazon is apparently in talks to buy webOS from HP.
Although this deal could make a fair bit of sense I don’t see the immediate need for Amazon. If they were to purchase webOS it would obviously be fully own the OS layer for their hardware and as I’ve speculated their hardware partners. Amazon however has customized Android to a degree that is basically their own custom operating system. So what they would get in webOS they basically already have with their fork of Android. Android has a thriving developer community already that can easily tap into the Amazon tablet where webOS is still attempting to gain traction with developers.
It is interesting though, as MobileBeat is reporting, that Jon Rubenstein is on Amazon’s board. If HP truly was considering selling of the webOS technology Jon would know and be in a position to find it a good home, in which Amazon would be a good home.
If HP is wanting to sell of webOS I agree with James Kendrick at ZDNET that HTC should buy it. So if this rumor is true, I hope it is not a back room deal but one that HP offers to others in the market who could also benefit greatly from webOS.
If Amazon were to acquire webOS then it would solidify in my mind that they intend to license or give away their OS layers so other hardware manufacturers can make hardware build around Amazon’s services.