HP's plans for a tablet have taken a new turn: instead of running Android - or even opting for Windows Phone 7 - the company has decided to put its weight behind a Palm-based operating system. It has also been revealed that any plans for a HP smartphone running Android have been scrapped.

Android's not very used to rejection, so why has Hewlett-Packard decided to give the Google operating system the cold shoulder? Well, back in April, HP bought struggling smartphone makers Palm and is obviously counting on WebOS - as part of a new tablet - to help recoup the expenditure.

Even though it is a solid operating system, Palm never managed to get a strong foothold in the mobile market. Technically though, it's a strong system, so let's hope its reputation as the "almost-there" of the mobile world doesn't hold the PalmPad back.

[image courtesy of Mobiusu]