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HP To Buy Palm For $1.2 Billion
necro81 writes "Palm, Inc., which has struggled in recent months after making a splash with its Pre smartphone, will be bought by HP, the world's largest computer maker. The deal has been approved by both companies' boards, and should be wrapped up this summer. HP will get Palm for about $5.70/share (about 20% above today's closing price), or about $1.2 billion. That's a pretty good deal, considering that in the months following the launch of the Pre on Sprint's network, Palm's share price topped $16. But marketing blunders hindered the Pre's more widespread adoption on other carriers, and the company's very existence has recently seemed in doubt."
Finally a decent OS to run on the SuperDomes!
Average Intelligence is a Scary Thing
Great - does this mean we'll have to make all our calls using RPN?
1234 555 212 1+ DIAL
I know it's supposed to be more logical, but it just seems so confusing...
When you have nothing left to burn you must set yourself on fire
If the direction the quality of HP printers is heading is any indication, say goodbye to Palm.
They used to be the best. Now, I wouldn't touch one.
This ain't rocket surgery.
Smart move if HP is thinking about getting back into the phone business. They probably threw the idea around and came to the conclusion that they'd be another also-ran if they just pushed Android/WP7 sets (Especially since thats the move Dell is making)
As a Pre owner I would be glad to see WebOS on some adequate hardware, and in a tablet form as well.
I wondered why at first, but then figured out that HP can let Palm and its products die completely, while making money with the patents alone.
You got it wrong, his (right) palm is a nerd's best friend!
"When in doubt, use brute force." Ken Thompson
HP, the world's largest computer maker.
HP are still that big? I haven't seen one of their products in years.
I care not for your karma and your mod points.
It's amazing the effect that one creepy girl can have on a share price.
Seriously. That last one is the worst. Using a phone is like the transmigration of souls?
Boo. In fairness, it's not the girl's fault at all.
By "marketing blunders", do they mean Palm's "The Most Pale Woman in the World" campaign? Because I've gotta say, she really didn't sell me on a Palm, or anything else.
She looked more like an extra from the Lord of the Rings (generic elf maiden #38) than a spokesmodel for a technical product.
John
Since HP already own 3COM, who spun off Palm in 2000 (with a first day valuation of something like 30 times what they are paying for it today), one could almost say that Palm is being bought back after 10 (not so happy) years as an independent company.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
If IBM were to buy HP+Palm, it would be the ultimate congolmerate of once-great companies.
But who would want to, when they are covered with hair?
Why?
WebOS has a better UI than Android does. And yes I am an Android user my wife has a Pre. WebOS is a good OS that had a STUPID SDK for a long time. They have fixed that and will soon offer access to the camera and mic which should help even more.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
She might be a bit creepy, but I certainly wouldn't refuse her Palm.
which is totally what she said
I was worried Palm was just going to fade away.
Yup, now it's going to enjoy the same level of long term success as the Alpha, OpenVMS, Tru64...
I am TheRaven on Soylent News
Facepalm
Now that Carly Fiorina isn't around to fuck HP any longer, it's now girlfriend is it's Palm.
HP won't pull an Oracle - ruin Palm the way Oracle has ruined Sun.
Perhaps their new name should be HPalm3Compaq.
HP BOUGHT Palm. Shares of PALM are no longer traded on the NASDAQ as of market close today. If you were short, you owe a lot of money...
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
I guess it was the 'shirts' that decided Palm's handwriting recognition was 'too valuable' to license...idiots. The time for using that had seemed passed, and nowdays with touch-screen oriented smartphones, it sounds like a good idea, again.
This sounds silly; but I STILL have a couple of Palm 5's around here. When I was a security guard, I could actually watch a line for activity, while writing on the Palm, without worrying about it being readable. I *SO* prefer it to the number-pad texting; it's so much faster and easy to learn.
Let's hope of all the treasures HP has found and lost, that the handwriting program is something they feel like licensing, cheaply, because it's darned useful, not hiding, because "they want to make all their money back". (This never happens, introducing scarcity: people work around it, instead).
So....GO HP!
--- For a good time mail uce@ftc.gov
You want an apartment in a hot miserable place?
Hey, I'm left handed you insensitive clod!
Does my memory fail me, or is HP the company that couldn't even do a decent job of selling iPods, the handheld-electronics equivalent of crack-covered pancakes?
Village idiot in some extremely smart villages.
Fuck off, they didn't start anything.
You might want to ask your doc to up your meds ...
HP has finally realized that in addition to being in competition with Cisco/VMWare/EMC in the datacenter, they're also in competition with Apple in the consumer gadgetry department. This probably comes out of Apple passing Microsoft on the S&P 500 last week. This is actually a good thing. $1.2B isn't a big deal to get Palm's patent portfolio and add some phones to their product list as well.
It also means they have no intention of going down with the WinTel ship. They're going to make a fight of it.
I hope they come out with a decent ARM based Android slate. I won't be buying that Intel Atom+Windows 7 version.
Help stamp out iliturcy.
Imagine if they launched their campaign with this commercial instead. Palm's life would be SOOOO different.
Twelve-and-three-quarter inches. Unyielding. This wand belonged to Bellatrix Lestrange.
"Besides, FOSS is always better than proprietary in the long term."
Really? Does Linux have more apps or market share on the desktop? No?
I like FOSS but you have zero proof to back up your statement. You are going to count out the iPhone as well.
Well you can do what you want but if you are right then Palm has a great future.
Palm OS IS based on Linux and frankly it is the most open of platforms right now.
Heck the Palm Website included instructions on how to set up your phone so you could side load apps that where not in the App store!
But there is nothing like seeing people make grand sweeping statements that have no basis if fact.
See my blog http://ilovecookes.blogspot.com/ for light hearted technical information.
... that just wouldnt die. Palms occasionally brilliant products and innovations, are completely outdone by the incompetence of their marketing and sales people. Everytime I see a press release from Palm I am surprised they are still around, and its been like this since they got spun off from 3Com.