Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) will enter the smartphone market in early 2011 using the webOS software it acquired as part of its $1.2 billion purchase of Palm.

"You will see us coming early next year with new phones," Senior Vice President Eric Cador said, according to Reuters.

Candor described the webOS software as "fundamental" to the purchase of Palm, a pioneer in hand-held devices.

HP, the world's largest technology company by revenue, is already a major player in PCs, servers, services and printers.