The year in review: HP's rollercoaster 12 months

Of all the Silicon Valley tech giants, HP can undoubtedly lay claim to having had the most tumultuous year, with a series of major management upheavals and acquisitions, and even launching and ditching a tablet in record time.

The end of 2010 was hardly a success for the firm's new chief executive, former SAP boss Léo Apotheker, as he was forced to hide from Oracle's attorneys during the TomorrowNow case. Hardly the best way to start your new regime.

But things started peacefully enough in 2011, with the firm unveiling a series of new PC devices at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and announcing that Meg Whitman was to join the board. More on her later.

HP also unveiled the TouchPad tablet running the webOS platform bought from Palm for $1.2bn to a rather lukewarm reception from consumers.

Meanwhile, in the business space, HP announced in February that it was buying data analysis firm Vertica for an undisclosed sum as it looked to enhance its ability to integrate business software and analytics capabilities.

The first rumblings of trouble for HP came when Oracle announced that it was ending support for Intel's Itanium chipset, a decision that caused a series of spats throughout 2011, and is set for a showdown in court in February 2012.

Besides that, though, HP went on its merry way, unveiling new products and allegiances, and announcing that the TouchPad was coming to the UK, without any hint of the dramas to come.