This is very surprising. I'd speculated that Sony or RIM would consider buying them once HTC fell out of favor. Sony seemed to be a good fit from a capacity to deliver a high quality product, plus they have ability, much like Apple, to sell stuff at a premium. RIM seemed less likely but given their need for a new phone OS, it seemed like a pretty easy fit. Corporate culture might have been a factor against them doing…
HP's not the sort of company that can enter a new market like this and turn it on its ear This isn't a new market for HP. They've been a leader in the PocketPC space for years, with their Axim line, and Compaq's Ipaq link (no, Apple didn't invent the "i" thing). I wonder now what's to become of the Ipaqs. I assume that the Windows Mobile based devices will simply be phased out.
Bringing webOS to a Slate device actually makes a lot of sense; I hadn't considered that and honestly that might be the real reason they pulled the trigger.