, including the TouchPad tablets and smartphones, as it looks to transform its operations to focus on enterprises. HP plans to concentrate on its enterprise and printer businesses and sell or spin off its Personal Systems Group (PSG), which is responsible for sales of the PCs and webOS devices.

However, the company said it would look for ways to use and "optimize" the webOS platform, including licensing it to hardware makers. HP acquired webOS along with Palm last year for US$1.2 billion, and at the time said it would use the OS across a range of devices including tablets and printers.

But sales of webOS smartphones and tablets have not been gaining traction in the fast-moving and complex consumer market, said Leo Apotheker, HP's CEO, on a conference call to discuss third-quarter financial results.

"Sales of the TouchPad are not meeting our expectations," Apotheker said.

HP hoped to establish webOS as a clear second OS platform for mobile devices, but the software ecosystem is poor and the TouchPad hardware was not received as anticipated, said HP's chief financial officer, Cathie Lesjak. The pricing of TouchPad tablets was cut by $100 shortly after launch in July, and the profit margins on those devices grew thinner, Lesjak said.