While HP is clearly making an enormous investment in Palm and webOS, don’t think they’re giving up on their other operating systems, most notably Windows Mobile. While their current sales of iPaq devices running Windows Mobile are less than lustrous, we can’t exactly say that Palm sales are moving along gangbusters either. So, we won’t fault HP for wanting to continue on with Windows Mobile alongside Palm webOS. Said HP VP of Strategy and Corporate Development Brian Humphries during the conference call today:

“We intend to continue to be a strategic partner for Microsoft. They’re a huge piece of our business today, and will continue to be so.”

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During the conference call discussing the HP purchase of Palm, HP VP of Strategy and Corporate Development Brian Humphries dropped what we can only read as a hint at something we think webOS would be awesome at: tablets. Above is Slide #5 from the conference call, on which you can see the Verizon Pre Plus, Pixi Plus, and the HP Slate. Slide #6 cites the key things that Palm and HP bring to the table, with Palm bringing webOS and loads of experience in the sector, while HP brings loads of cash and scale. Scale, as in deploying webOS onto multiple form factors, like tablets. Of course, nothing concrete apart from the purchase itself was announced, but it’s clear that HP is psyched about what they can do with Palm and webOS.

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Our friends over at Engadget were able to get on the horn with Brian Humphries, HP VP of Strategy and Corporate Development, and Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, and they had a pretty positive picture painted for them. According to their chat, HP plans to be “doubling down on webOS,” which Engadget confirmed with Rubinstein, saying “that was the whole point.” webOS is our singular most favorite part of Palm and the part we worried most about with the HP merger. Additionally, Rubinstein and most of the Palm executive staff will be staying on board, so for now it seems like Palm will continue to be Palm, but with the assets of the world’s largest technology company behind them.

So what will HP be doing with Palm and the “prized asset” that is webOS? Engadget was told that they intend to scale the OS “across multiple connected devices.” Tablets, anyone? Additionally, Rubinstein believes that HP wouldn’t be taking Palm and webOS “unless they were willing to make the kind of investment necessary to win.” Considering that HP is currently nowhere near winning in the smartphone marketplace (the lone smartphone OS they use, Windows Mobile 6.5, is due to die a slow painful death), the purchase of Palm isn’t just for IP considerations.

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