Plans by Hewlett-Packard to spin off or sell its personal computer business may clear the way for Lenovo Group and other major Asian players to boost their global market share, analysts said.
HP, the world's largest information-technology company, yesterday announced it was exploring strategic options to shed its Personal Systems Group (PSG), the biggest global supplier of personal computers.
In a conference call with analysts, HP chief executive Leo Apotheker said this process was expected to 'take 12 to 18 months to complete'.
Apotheker said the direction was an important component of HP's strategy to 'focus on cloud [computing], solutions and software accessible to any type of device, while we continue to expand and leverage our strong technologies, including printing hardware, software and services'.
The makeover would turn HP - which had total revenue of US$126 billion in its last fiscal year - into a big-ticket enterprise technology and services supplier in the mould of International Business Machines, which sold its personal computer business to Lenovo for US$1.75 billion in 2005.
United States-based HP also announced it would shut down its loss-making media tablet and smartphone business, more than a year after it acquired mobile device maker Palm for US$1.2 billion. It would also explore options for Palm's webOS platform for smart devices.