HTC Not Interested in Palm; Palm Can Survive

Over the last few weeks, there has been speculation that Palm was accepting buy-out offers and one of the companies rumored to be offering, or at least thinking of offering, was HTC. It made sense for HTC to acquire Palm's vast IP portfolio. Currently embroiled in a patent infringement lawsuit with Apple, owning all of the patents currently owned by Palm would be a great weapon for HTC. However, it seems HTC is not interested.

Citing people with knowledge of the situation, Reuters reports that HTC was approached about making a bid but decided to pass after reviewing Palm's books. Lenovo is now said to be the front-runner for acquiring Palm.

However, Palm's CEO Jon Rubinstein has said he thinks the company can still operate independently. In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Rubinstein said, "Palm can survive as an independent company. We have a plan that gets us to profitability."

Rubinstein did say that the board would have to consider a reasonable offer if it was presented to them but he seems confident that the company can pull itself back up. The CEO even said the company may let other mobile manufacturers use its WebOS operating system to boost revenue.

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  • Hiniberus
    Man I haven't seen a PALM product around for a while, where I live at least. I wonder what they're up to...
    Reply
  • theuerkorn
    Palm needs to innovate and open up. Otherwise R.I.P.! It's really that simple and I am afraid they don't have the resources anymore to do it on their own.
    Reply
  • apmyhr
    Maybe if their advertisements weren't so damn creepy more people would buy their phones.
    Reply
  • zoemayne
    theuerkornPalm needs to innovate and open up. Otherwise R.I.P.! It's really that simple and I am afraid they don't have the resources anymore to do it on their own.Its too late their obviously trying to sale the company b/c their recent products werent that successful this is what happens when everyone buys a single product apple.
    Reply
  • They made the mistake of only offering one hardware platform for the phone. Even though Apple pulled it off, Palm made their phone way too specific in taste. Didn't cater to the people who prefer a virtual keyboard, or people who like bigger screens.. etc. WebOS has lots of potential, but they gotta expand the hardware variety.
    Reply
  • omnimodis78
    Too bad that palm couldn't get its act together in time - as far as products are concerned, they had the edge when the smartphone revolution began but they lacked imagination, and certainly had a substandard marketing dept/firm. You look at the iphone - what a piece of crap (really, I know) and yet it sells for no other reason than marketing and perception. I loved my treo, but I moved on to an htc and if I had to I'd rather use the "cell phone" from miami vice than an ugly cliched iphone.
    Reply
  • koss64
    The Palm Pre plus actually looks like a phone id own(if i could get it that is)
    Reply
  • totheshed
    ZingamIn Europe we do not buy Apple...
    I wish I could say that about America
    Reply
  • tayb
    ZingamIn Europe we do not buy Apple...
    Lies. Apple sells a ton of iPhones in Europe.

    totheshedI wish I could say that about America
    Fanboy to the new level right here. Being embarrassed because people in America buy iPhones. Hey, hide your iPhone when you visit Europe!!
    Reply
  • toastninja17
    ROCKED!!!
    Reply