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Hewlett-Packard is taking steps to upgrade the reliability of its computers and to expand in the software market — deficiencies created by its cost-cutting former CEO Mark Hurd, according to current boss Leo Apotheker.

In his most direct comments to date on his predecessor, Apotheker said in an interview that HP has “cut enough costs.”

“HP has lost its soul,” Apotheker told Bloomberg News ahead of a conference in San Francisco on Monday.

“HP didn’t lose its soul, it stayed on the same path — the hardware path that IBM got off of a long time ago,” said analyst Jim Kelleher with Argus Research.

HP is the world’s largest computer maker and ships about 60 million PCs a year.

Apotheker is trying to catch up with the software side of the industry by plotting some bold moves, one of which was buying smartphone maker Palm last year. The firm also began developing its own operating system for mobile devices and, as it turns out, PCs.

HP’s WebOS software is due to be in all of the firm’s PCs and laptops starting next year, Apotheker said, adding it would lean on WebOS for more than developing its mobile platform for phones and tablets. The company’s PCs will come with the option of running WebOS or Windows, he said.

That will deal a blow to Microsoft, whose Windows software has long dominated the PC market. In trading yesterday, HP fell 35 cents to $42.05 while Microsoft fell 2 cents to $25.89.

The move is seen as a way for HP to boost its own platform, offering better integration among all devices from mobile to desktop. “It’s an awfully bold venture for them,” Kelleher said.

“They want to control the operating system so they control the app library. They are definitely taking a more software-oriented approach,” he said.

To be sure, the company has a way to go until its platform attracts the type of attention that Apple has garnered from developers. Apple’s platform offers 350,000 apps compared to HP’s 6,000. gsloane@nypost.com