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HP decides on a fate for the HP Personal Systems Group-- the unit will remain part of the company after all.

The spin-off option will never happen either, as HP (and new CEO Meg Whitman) realises the value of remaining in the PC business.

The HP PSG was put on sale last August as one of the last decisions by non-hardware loving ex-CEO Léo Apotheker, who wanted to turn HP into an IBM-alike, selling hardware and software to enterprise clients.

Even when going through such uncertain times, the HP PC business still grew in market share during the summer according to Gartner and IDC research.

HP offers no details on the future of Palm and webOS though--but the company says it will come to a decision regarding webOS within the next few months.

Go HP to Keep PC Division

Go Out of the PC Business: HP's Garage Sale

Nokia presents a hopeful face at Nokia World 2011, unveiling not one but two Windows Phone 7 devices-- flagship model Lumia 800 and the "colourful and affordable" Lumia 710.

The company describes the Lumia 800 as "the first real Windows Phone"-- a sleek handset sharing industrial design with the stillborn Meego-powered N9, using the same 12.1mm thick polycarbonate plastic casing and 3.7" AMOLED curved display.

Inside is a 1.4GHz processor, 16GB of internal storage, a camera using Carl Zeiss optics and the latest Windows Phone version (7.5 aka Mango), complete with WP7-optimised versions of familiar Nokia apps and 25GB of free SkyDrive storage.

It will be available in 3 colours (cyan, magenta, black) from November 2011.

Meanwhile the Lumia 710 is the "no-nonsense" option, with a chunkier plastic design, 3.7" display and the same 1.4GHz processor as the Lumia 800. It will ship in either black or white (together with a number of replaceable back covers) in European markets from "early 2012."

Thanks to a deal with Beats headphone maker Monster, Nokia also offers a pair of co-branded on-ear and in-ear headsets.

Also unveiled at Nokia World is a new Symbian feature phone family-- "Asha," from the Hindi word for "hope" (maybe they should have used "hamphi," Hindi for "gasp"?). The new series has x4 affordable models in total (Asha 303, 300, 200 and 201) and will be available from Q1 2012.

Go Nokia Showcases New Phone Portfolio at Nokia World 2011

Tablet shipments beat netbook shipments for the first time in Q2 2011, according to ABI Research-- with tablet shipments reaching 13.6M units, compared to 7.3M netbooks.

The analyst says Q1 2011 netbook shipments reach 8.4M, while tablet units number 6.4M.

“This is a trend that we do not expect will reverse,” ABI says, describing the shift in shipment numbers as "changing of leadership for the most interesting device type," rather than direct market cannibalisation.

Apple continues dominating the tablet market-- taking over 68% of Q2 2011 tablet shipments.

However, netbooks do retain one advantage over tablets-- pricing-- and will retain customer interest in developing markets for this reason.

The analyst forecasts 2011 netbook shipments will total 32M, while tablets will reach 60M units.

Go ABI Research: Tablets Eclipse Nebooks Sales in Q2 2011

Metro Group CEO Eckhard Cordes is stepping down from his position in a statement saying "...I do not anymore wish to prolong my current contract ending 31/10/2012," amidst corporate drama worthy of a TV series.

Cordes will remain in his position until next year, but he insists new managerial blood should take over Metro Group in his stead.

Why the exit? Cordes refers to recent events where "...I [Cordes] have come to the conclusion that the trustful basis to stay on as the head of METRO AG's top management does not anymore exist," no doubt referring to Media Markt founder and important minority stockholder Erich Kellerhals-- a man one can describe as Cordes' main nemesis.

As a grand old man (aged 72) Kellerhals is afraid of the changes Cordes threatens to introduce... back in the press conference announcing Metro's record 2010 results, Kellerhals made his rivalry more than obvious, saying “I will not allow that Mr. Cordes destroys what made us big and influential.”

Will Cordes solve Metro's current issues in his last year? Probably not. Media-Saturn is still licking the wounds left from the record -€44M Q2 2011 losses, with plans to leave the Greek markets to Saturn. The Metro Group is also seeking to sell off underperforming units such as department store chain Kaufhof and hypermarket chain Real, with little to no success so far.

One fact is sure-- the drama (if not corporate bloodshed) will continue within the Metro Group boardrooms.

Go Statement by Metro CEO Eckhard Cordes

Go Media-Saturn Counts its Losses