As HP squares off with Android and Apple, Phil McKinney to keynote at MobileBeat

We’re pleased to announce that Phil McKinney, VP and CTO of Hewlett-Packard’s Personal Systems Group, will be keynoting at MobileBeat 2010, a conference held by VentureBeat on July 12 to 13 in San Francisco. As the man in charge of HP’s product lines, McKinney stands smack in the middle of a major power shift in the mobile industry.

The success of new form factors for powerful computers (think iPhone, Droid, iPad) have inspired PC makers to redirect massive investment budgets towards tablets, TVs and superphones, and the platform of choice has been Android. Dell, Lenovo and Acer are all launching new mobile devices, and all have jumped on Google’s bandwagon.

In the midst of this Android lovefest, however, the biggest PC maker in the world appears to be increasingly going it alone. While it does have Android devices, the company has announced plans to acquire Palm and its WebOS software layer. That looks to VentureBeat like it plans to own its own mobile stack, platform and all. With a $40 billion PC business and big ambitions, we believe HP is on the verge of becoming the new mobile powerhouse.

Why do device makers need to innovate in software as well as hardware in the current market? How does this play into the coming deluge of connected devices? You won’t want to miss McKinney’s keynote on the current “perfect storm” of innovation. McKinney will share developments now underway at his own organization, including HP’s vision for next-generation connected devices, and how to tap the promise of the cloud.

Early-bird tickets for MobileBeat are available for just four more days. Grab them here before they expire May 31.

Phil McKinney, VP and CTO, HP Personal Systems Group

McKinney is responsible for long-range strategic planning and research and development for the company’s PC product lines, including displays, mobile devices, notebooks, desktops and workstations.

A leading authority on innovation and its impact on business, the economy and culture, McKinney speaks to worldwide audiences at conferences and through his blog (www.philmckinney.com) and weekly podcast (www.killerinnovations.com). Dubbed “chief seer” by the The San Jose Mercury News, McKinney is a contributing columnist for Forbes, writes the column “The Objective” for Forbes.com, and has been quoted in publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, BusinessWeek, Financial Times, Fortune and others.

We also want to thank the mobile industry leaders that are supporting MobilBeat2010, including GetJar and Placecast as Gold Sponsors, AdMob and Open Market as Silver Sponsors, and Nexage and Offerpal as Event Sponsors.

In addition, we’re proud to partner with GetJar, the world’s second largest app store, to present “The Gettie Awards 2010,” a competition for talented mobile application developers. The winners of the awards will be announced at a ceremony to take place on the evening of July 12, immediately following the first day of MobileBeat. The Getties ceremony will include dinner, entertainment and the awards announcements themselves. Submission guidelines and event information can be found here. To purchase tickets to the Getties, click here.

Don’t miss MobileBeat 2010, VentureBeat’s conference on the future of mobile. The theme: “The year of the superphone and who will profit.” Now expanded to two days, MobileBeat 2010 will take place on July 12-13 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Early-bird pricing is available until May 31. For complete conference details, or to apply for the MobileBeat Startup Competition, click here.