HP Readying Blackberry, Apple Mobile OS Rival in 2011?

Another week, another leak about what Hewlett-Packard may have planned for a WebOS.

The tech website Engadget is reporting that a senior executive told employees during an all-hands meeting on Monday that the company's targeting the first quarter of next year to ship a tablet loaded with the WebOS - the internal codename for the project being "Hurricane."

Earlier this spring, HP announced plans to acquire Palm for $1.2 billion. At the time, the company was vague about what it planned to do with the mobile operating system, dropping hints about future products, including tablets, netbooks and other devices powered by WebOS.

Also: Check out CNET's recent report on HP's chief technology officer. During a conference last week, Shane Robison said the Palm acquisition would pay off in a panoply of products including slates and other computers, smartphones, and next-generation printers. He also sketched out in very broad terms how a WebOS might affect HP's product line, noting that most of its printers will be Web-connected and print without the need a computer - and the WebOS would allow for a consistent interface across many of these devices.