HP looking to license WebOS as an alternative to iOS, Android

Bloomberg is reporting that HP Chief Executive Officer Leo Apotheker confirmed yesterday that is the world’s largest maker of personal computers is in discussions to license its WebOS mobile software to third parties. This is a good thing for HP, who revised its sales forecast down by $1 billion last month.

HP's WebOS would give manufacturers yet another alternative to Google, Microsoft, and Apple operating systems. According to Apotheker, HP is talking to a number of companies, with insiders pointing to Samsung as one potential partner that has expressed interest and licensing WebOS could help Sammy bolster its mid-range products running their own Bada platform, which has yet to really gain traction with developers.

This could be big news and if Android's 3% dip in the US market is the beginning of a slow decline this could be an opportunity for HP to grab some OS footprint.