HP is set to acquire Palm for $1.2 billion, or $5.70 per share.
It’s perhaps no surprise that Palm’s been bought – a sale has been on the cards – but nobody I know of had considered HP to be in the mix. That said, upon reflection it seems quite a good fit.
First up, the companies’ cultures (and brand) have a good chance of being compatible. Both are US-based, have their roots in Silicon Valley, and are strong brands in North America. HP obviously has much leverage globally too.
Best of all, HP clearly values Palm’s relatively new webOS and unlike other potential buyers isn’t soaking up Palm purely for its patent portfolio. Engadget reports that HP is “doubling down” on webOS and has mentioned Internet tablets and other mobile devices along with smartphones. Read the rest of this entry »
We’ll see. I think the potential is there but I haven’t been impressed with HP for some time, ever since Carly whatsername ran the company into the toilet. Check out their ratings in the PC World user surveys. Worst quality in desktops, worst quality in laptops, worst quality in printers. I agree they’ve been fielding some interesting stuff lately–I love the look of the HP Mini 5100 and the ProBooks and even think the Envy has potential (other than the horrible heat problems, the crappy trackpad, etc).
Will HP waste this opportunity, or will it actually put its muscle behind WebOS? If the latter it quickly needs to come out with a few more WebOS phone models (a touch only model, a bigger unit with a better keyboard, etc), and it really really needs to put its money behind a slate PC, and even maybe a smartbook running WebOS. If they want they can hedge their bets by continuing their investment in Windows Phone 7, ChromeOS, etc, but I wouldn’t. And they need to do everything they can to get developers on board. And yes I want a photoframe update with WebOS, and I want that touch technology and apps to migrate to their all in one touch computers and …
I’m pumped about this. I like WebOS the best of the modern smart phone OSes, and I have to say every time I played with an iPad I thought “damn, this would be way better if it was Palm OS”.
So I have high hopes I guess, but I think the potential is really there.
Trust me. HP bought Palm so they could put WebOS into the HP Slate. It’s obvious HP is setting up to go after the iPad.
Well, it looks like HP has killed the much vaunted Windows 7 Slate which was never going to be a good idea. Maybe they’re serious about WebOS which paired with an ARM core and the right-sized display/battery could produce an actual viable competitor to the iPad. Only time will tell.
I’m enjoying all the posts of the “Courier fanboys” gnashing their teeth though. Its just too funny. A marketing department render fantasy that could never be paired up with hatred of Apple to create this weird coalition of people who never would have bought the actual product if it had come out… An interesting few days for Slates…
Dave – I don’t think Palm is dead at all, not with this huge lifeline. HP wasn’t just going after a bargain basement. They see real value in webOS (slates, et al like other folks above mentioned), not to mention entering the smartphone market instantly.
Will it all still be called ‘Palm’. I’m willing to bet it will, or at least most of it.