He thinks they can create a big enough platform given the PC and printer markets to attract developers.

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Effectively, he says, investors are getting the PC and printer business for free.

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Banc of America Securities analyst Keith Bachman maintained his "buy" rating on Hewlett-Packard after the PC and printer giant announced the resignation of software division head Nora Denzel following Wednesday's market close.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Banc of America Securities analyst Keith Bachman maintained his "buy" rating on Hewlett-Packard (nyse: HPQ - news - people ) after the PC and printer giant announced the resignation of software division head Nora Denzel following Wednesday's market close.

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Anyone who's ever attempted to configure a new printer from their PC knows the process can be cumbersome at best and Microsoft largely agrees.

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It controls each device individually, he says, meaning that a printer or scanner would shut down when idle, even if the PC to which it is attached is still being used.

WSJ: Switching Off Standby Mode

While it's easy to see how TouchPad and smartphone sales would symbiotically attract developers, it's less clear how much apps for those products would have in common with, say, those on a printer front panel or on a layer living on top of Windows on a PC -- two possibilities that HP has raised for device markets where it is particularly strong.

ENGADGET: Switched On: webOS wherever

Early users of the close-range wireless technology already know it's useful for things like performing a HotSync operation from across a room--provided you have that PC outfitted for Bluetooth already--or printing documents from the handheld to a Bluetooth-ready printer.

FORBES: Magazine Article