HP is betting on convertible devices as a means of boosting holiday season sales, CEO Meg Whitman tells investors during the quarterly company earnings call.
"We've got a lot of convertibles in the market, so do our competitors, and we're advertising behind those because we think that's a really innovative form factor that's the best of the tablet and the best of the PC," Whitman says. "I think it's too early to tell how the demand for convertibles is going whether it's in the commercial space or the consumer space this Christmas season... I think we will know more after we get to the Christmas season on the consumer side."
The "convertible" term covers a variety of devices, including laptop/tablet hybrids with displays detachable from a keyboard base (such as the Spectre x2) and devices with swiveling touchscreens (the EliteBook Revolve).
HP sees better than expected results for Q4 2013-- too bad it's thanks to enterprise, not consumer, sales. The HP Enterprise Group manages to turn around, growing by 2% Y-o-Y to $7.59 billion. Meanwhile personal systems revenues drop by -2% Y-o-Y, with a -10% decline from the consumer side and a 4% increase in commerical revenues.
