While Apple鈥檚 iPad garnered much of the attention in 2010, should offer consumers more choices and help keep prices down in the smartphone and tablet markets. HP outmaneuvered several rivals, including Apple, Research In Motion (maker of the Blackberry), and Google, to gain a toehold in the mobile device market. HP now owns Palm鈥檚 patents and can utilize its talented technical staff to develop smartphones and other products using its proprietary mobile operating system. Competition in this area promises to be fierce, with the introduction of Microsoft鈥檚 Windows Phone 7, which is just hitting the store shelves, as well as Apple鈥檚 iPhone and Google鈥檚 Android. The benefit to the consumer is not immediate but will take the form of lower acquisition costs of new products down the road.
Mark Lennihan/AP/File
