Whitman says Apple could overtake HP in 2012: report

Apple could overtake Hewlett-Packard next year as the world's top personal computer maker, HP's chief executive Meg Whitman said in an interview with a French daily to appear on Wednesday.

If one includes tablet computers then Apple could overtake HP in 2012, the French-language Figaro daily quotes Whitman, who took over HP's helm in September, as saying.

Whitman told the paper that the Palo Alto, California-based HP will try to regain the top spot in 2013 and that it will release a new tablet using Microsoft's Windows 8, saying HP wanted to concentrate on the important tablet market.

Citing disappointing sales, HP announced on August 18 that it was discontinuing its TouchPad tablet -- just seven weeks after it hit the market -- and abandoning the webOS operating system acquired from Palm that powered the device.

(c) 2011 AFP