Hewlett-Packard will keep making PCs rather than spinning off its consumer computer division, the company announced Thursday.

HP surprised the tech world in August, when then-CEO Leo Apotheker announced he was killing the company's webOS tablet, the TouchPad, and "considering" spinning off the PC division. HP is one of the world's leading PC manufacturers, but the growth of its consumer division has slowed in recent years. Apotheker intended to take HP in the direction of his former company, SAP, by providing more business services — even though that currently constitutes a tiny percentage of the company's sales.

Apotheker's decision was widely jeered by customers and analysts; he was also thought to have overspent in paying $10 billion for business software maker Autonomy. A month later, in a board coup, Apotheker was replaced by former eBay CEO and failed California gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman. It was HP's third CEO switch in the span of one year.

In her first press conference as CEO, Whitman said she was still exploring the sale of the PC division. But the chorus of voices calling on her to keep it has only grown louder. Two weeks ago, Michael Dell weighed in with three reasons why HP shouldn't shrink from the PC market. While it may be maturing, he said, 500 million PCs are still expected to be sold in the next two years.

Indeed, while HP dithered over the PC division decision, the company actually gained market share against top rivals Lenovo and Dell.

Ultimately, the company decided the PC division is "right for customers and partners, right for shareholders, and right for employees," Whitman said in a statement.

Mark Budgell, HP’s PR manager of social media strategy, chimed in with a hearty endorsement. In a blog post, Budgell described a comprehensive, company-wide decision process: "Thousands of hours were spent understanding how extracting the PC business would impact everything from supply chain to product development and brand image," he writes.

"Our leadership teams were locked in boardrooms late into many evenings. You could tell from the tired-but-determined look on their faces, and their coffee consumption, that no one was taking it lightly."

Here's the official HP press release in full: