HP has no plans to release a new smartphone in 2013, but it will have to sell one eventually or it risks missing out on "a huge segment of the population," HP CEO Meg Whitman said on Wednesday, Oct. 3, clarifying the comments she made last month.

In September, Whitman told the Fox Business Network that her company needs to offer a smartphone because phones have become the main computing device for people in many countries. At the time, Whitman said HP was working on this.

Whitman was again asked about those smartphone plans at HP's financial analyst day on Wednesday, and she reckoned that her earlier remarks had caused "quite a stir."

"We don't have any plans to introduce a smartphone in 2013, but we've got to start thinking about what is our unique play, how do we capture this element of the personal computing market?" said the CEO, according to Computer World.

HP must offer every type of device to stay competitive, from workstations to all-in-one (AIO) PCs, hybrid PCs, laptops, tablets, "and, ultimately, smartphones," added Whitman.

"I believe that five years from now, if we don't have a smartphone or whatever the next generation of that device is, we'll be locked out of a huge segment of the population in many countries of the world," she explained.

HP made an attempt last year under former CEO Leo Apotheker when it launched some smartphones and tablets based on its webOS, but has since stopped developing those devices.

When it comes to the market for consumer tablets, Whitman said on Wednesday that chief information officers (CIOs) would rather have a device based on Windows, although Apple's iPad is still dominant.

"The consumer market, I would argue, is quite well-served by the tablet in the marketplace today from Apple," she said. "But every CIO I talk to wants to have a Windows device, backward compatibility, the ability to control those devices from a security perspective."

Meanwhile, HP's Printing and Personal Systems Group chief Todd Bradley said that HP expects tablet sales to businesses to grow at three times the rate of sales to consumers.

The company also used the analyst day to detail a restructuring plan outlined in May to help bolster its finances. As part of this effort, HP said it will reduce the number of products it sells, including ditching a quarter of its PC platforms and 30 percent of its printer models within the next two years.

HP further offered a weak financial outlook for its next fiscal year, with expected earnings per share of 40 cents to $3.60. These expectations fall well below the consensus estimate of $4.18 from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. The news tilted company shares, which dropped nearly 13 percent to $14.91 at the close of trading on Wednesday.