Exclusive: HP's Meg Whitman on webOS 'it's not obvious exactly what to do here'

HP CEO Meg Whitman just told a room full of Palm and HP employees that the company doesn't yet know what to do with webOS. "It's really important to me to make the right decision, not the fast decision," she told those gathered with her on the HP campus, adding that a decision would come in the next three to four weeks. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as reports recently swirled that the computer-maker has been in discussions to sell off the troubled mobile platform to the highest bidder. "If HP decides [to keep webOS], we're going to do it in a very significant way over a multi-year period," she said, adding that "it's a very expensive proposition, but HP can make that bet."

Whitman also said the only reason she hasn't made a decision yet is because she had to first figure out what to do with HP's PC business (which she decided to keep) and manage the acquisition of Autonomy. Whitman added that she knows the added delay on a final decision about webOS is "unsatisfying," but that "the economics of this business are tough," and she needs time to decide whether HP should invest in webOS at great cost or if "there's another way to create that ecosystem." We're also told that Whitman focused primarily on tablets and said that "things get more complicated if you add in phones."