Well so much for Palm surviving as an independent company; HP has swooped in a snapped up the smartphone company for a cool $1.2 billion.
HP today announced that it has acquired Palm at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by both HP's and Palm's boards of directors and is expected to close during HP's third fiscal quarter which ends July 31.
"Palm's innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP's mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices," said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. "And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market."
So HP is stoked but what about Palm? It would seem the people at Palm are just as excited at the thought of a merger with HP, despite what CEO Jon Rubinstein said last week. In an interview with the Financial Times, Rubinstein said that while the board would definitely consider any serious offers to purchase the company, he was confident the company could prosper as an independent company. Rubinstein even said he had a plan to get Palm out of the red and into the black. "Palm can survive as an independent company," he said at the time. "We have a plan that gets us to profitability." In a statement today, Rubinstein said his company was "thrilled" about the deal with HP.
"We're thrilled by HP's vote of confidence in Palm's technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP's longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS," said Rubinstein. "We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners."
1.2 Billion. Damn..
Boo it's HP not HTC...
What PC you get from a major player isn't going to have bloatware on it? I'd rather have the bloatware and pay a lower price. I just wipe the HD and start from fresh anyway. I build my desktops but they can stick 100GBs of bloatware on the laptops I buy if it means lower prices.
I've used both... WebOS beats the iPhone's OS easily. Haven't used Android yet. Wouldn't be surpised to see HP start licensing WebOS at some point.
WebOS tablet version? That would be something to see.
I love WebOS too, but I can't add it to my SERO plan. That, I am not too fond of the small Palm thumbboard, even though my Treo Pro has it. WebOS on an HTC Touch Pro 2 style phone would be ideal.
I hope HP comes out with a good variety of phones sporting this OS. I think its pretty evident that there are people who prefer no keyboard, the slide out side keyboard, and people who prefer the Palm style thumbboard. Its a good OS; mix it with good engineering and you can have a winner.
or integrated in the hp slate ?! hehe
Dell assembles pre-fabbed computer hardware. HP has a history of creating various products and technologies. Sure, they're now known mainly for their printers and desktops, but that's mostly the fault of their prior CEO (not sure if it was the same one busted for ordering the illegal spying of the board members or not). Anyway, the comparison is unfair.
That said, HP should have no problem continuing the Palm brand and infusing it with much needed technical and financial support.
Usually they try to make you pay for the bloatware. It is a "feature."
Even if it is just a Pre with a bigger screen it really would leave the iPad in the dust. I'm glad to see Palm survive. I had a Treo or two and they were rock solid devices. They could have a PC tablet and a WebOS tablet.
And or create a "light OS" for their laptops for minimal power drain on the go computing.
Wish i had Palm Stock today =\
In addition to smart phones, HP said it plans to "aggressively create a new platform" for Palm's WebOS operating system. HP said it plans to use the operating system in non-smart phone devices, like tablets and perhaps television sets.
HP also noted that the company is interested in Palm's patents. Palm had been making handheld devices for a decade before smart phones came to the market, and analysts say its patents could help a company that buys Palm to fight off any potential legal disputes with other smart phone makers
..from CNN.
I think it's all but assured you're going to see an "iPad killer" running WebOS from HP as soon as they can possibly get one out.
LOL HP is worth double what Apple is (114.7 Billion vs 47 Billion).