• Engadget, Thursday, June 3, 2010 12:09 PM

No, HP didn't spend a billion dollar on smartphone-maker Palm to have a go at the smartphone market. Really. Instead, the top computer maker is more interested in Palm's IP -- specifically webOS, which it wants to put on "tens of millions of HP small form-factor Web-connected devices," HP CEO Mark Hurd just told investors at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch tech conference.

"Sure, that makes sense, and it lines up perfectly with HP's plan to 'double down on webOS' and put it on everything from netbooks and slates to printers, but hey, Mark?" asks an incredulous Engadget. "You should really look into the smartphone business when you get a second, okay? Just trust us on this one." Nope. Hurd insisted that he 'didn't buy Palm to be in the smartphone business," nor would he ever "spend billions of dollars trying to go into the smartphone business ... that doesn't in any way make any sense."

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