HP creates new business unit for WebOS

SAN FRANCISCO, July 11 (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard (HPQ.N) said on Monday that Stephen DeWitt will head its new WebOS business unit as the company looks to expand the use of the software among developers and consumers.

WebOS -- the basis for HP's 9.7-inch TouchPad tablet that will went on sale this month -- is widely viewed as a strong platform, but it got off to a tepid start after critics assailed the TouchPad for poor battery life, slow processing speed and paucity of apps.

DeWitt, who was leading HP Personal Systems Group's Americas unit before the appointment, will be replaced by insider Stephen DiFranco.

HP, which got WebOS as part of its $1.2 billion acquisition of Palm last year, hopes to combine the software with devices from smartphones to printers, gambling that there is room for yet another mobile software platform.

Jon Rubinstein, who led WebOS at Palm, will move to a product innovation job. (Reporting by Poornima Gupta. Editing by Robert MacMillan)