US technology giant Hewlett-Packard is set to announce plans to make its handheld business a separate entity.
A Reuters report, citing Wall Street Journal, said HP would separate its portable device business from its notebook computer operations to benefit from the growth of devices that allowed consumers to make phone calls and check e-mail, among other functions.
The report said that as part of the move, HP had appointed David Rothschild, a former executive at rival Sun Microsystems, to lead the handheld unit.
HP representatives, however, were not immediately available for comment, the report said.