Here’s an exciting thought: now that HP will be the driving force behind webOS, the world’s largest technology company will soon become one of the biggest and most innovative drivers in the Web space. Palm, as you know, has been no slouch when it comes to driving the adoption of next-gen web technology, with the company pushing the edge of what’s possible with web technology by making it a keystone technology in the "prized possession" that is webOS. Sure, the details of the buyout are still up in the air, but if HP brings Palm in as a semi-autonomous business unit and allows the existing engineering corps to do what they do best, then the future of mobile computing just got a whole lot brighter.
As @bgalbs wisely pointed out, HP’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm isn’t just an investment in the company’s smartphone efforts going forward; it’s a huge bet on the web itself.