Nicholas Carlson: Facebook should buy WebOS for a couple bucks

Nicholas Carlson, writing for Business Insider:

The Android-based Facebook Phone has been tough sledding thanks to the company’s strained relationship with Google and a series of employee departures.

HP just gave up on WebOS.

Zuckerberg and company could probably pick it up for the price of a couple sandwiches.

This is not a crazy idea. Especially because Facebook’s mobile app platform is likely to be web/HTML5 based, so WebOS’s tiny developer base may not be as important. And anyway, a lot of WebOS development is also web-driven.

I don’t know how much HP wants for WebOS, if Jon Rubinstein would be included in any deal, if that even matters, etc.

Carlson also proposes Amazon as a potential buyer. Also not crazy. Both of those companies have ambitions to be platforms, and WebOS is a pretty solid platform that’s for sale.

For more, here’s my story from last fall: Why Facebook Has A Secret Phone Project: It Needs To Be A Platform, Not Just A Service