HP to buy PALM - Canadian TV, Computing and Home Theatre Forums

hugh · 2010-04-28, 04:43 PM

Hewlett-Packard announced Wednesday that it would buy struggling smartphone maker Palm for $1.2 billion.

There had been talk that RIM might buy it too.

Tomato9876 · 2010-04-28, 06:38 PM

Sure hope webOS stays around, it would be a shame for it to die off!

99semaj · 2010-04-28, 06:57 PM

Unfortunately, HP has little or nothing to offer in the way of best-in-class hardware expertise, and that's what the Pre really needed to complement its excellent WebOS.

BGY11 · 2010-04-28, 07:08 PM

While you don't hear much about them now, HP does still have an iPaq or two for business clients.

If RIM bought Palm then WebOS would be gone. HTC would have been good, but with their focus on Android I think they wouldn't focus enough on a strong WebOS device without trying to skin it with Sense UI.

Gino Cerullo · 2010-04-29, 12:24 PM

Interesting development. It seems HP doesn't have much faith in Microsoft as a partner to deliver mobile operating systems so they are hedging their bets and buying Palm to ensure they have a future in the emerging mobile devices space.

Larry · 2010-04-29, 01:00 PM

This really makes me wonder what will become of Windows mobile. Unless they make a really big advance with their version 7, we may see the end of it in favour of Apple and/or Android.

dezzpayne · 2010-04-29, 01:13 PM

Seems funny though, they had a great little phone, WebOS that everyone raves about yet couldn't get the job done. Sounds like the blame for their failure lands squarely on the shoulders of the executives. Perhaps they should outsource management and give the engineers fat bonuses?

rpr · 2010-04-29, 02:50 PM

I still don't think WebOS has reached anywhere near it's potential, hopefully HP will back the future development of the software and hardware, and expand it's reach.

Gino Cerullo · 2010-04-30, 04:53 PM

Rumours are starting to spread that HP has killed the 'Slate' tablet that was shown at CES. I guess now that they've acquired Palm, they may be re-thinking the viability of Windows 7 on a low-power mobile device. Or, more likely, they saw how bad Windows 7 performed on a low power mobile device and decided that Palm's WebOS was a better bet.

On a somewhat related note, Microsoft has confirmed that the 'Courier' dual-screen tablet is not really a product but nothing more than concepts for future technologies that may one day find their way into future products. I doubt it was ever more than a way to take attention away from the iPad and Google's Chromium OS.

2010-04-28, 04:43 PM	#1
hugh Member #1 Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Toronto Posts: 47,492	HP to buy PALM Hewlett-Packard announced Wednesday that it would buy struggling smartphone maker Palm for $1.2 billion. There had been talk that RIM might buy it too. __________________ As of January 2012, I am no longer the owner of the Digital Home website. If you have questions about the operation of the site, please contact VSAdmin. For personal inquiries contact me at the Hugh Thompson website.

Thread Tools	Search this Thread
Show Printable Version Email this Page	Search this Thread: Advanced Search
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

2010-04-28, 06:38 PM	#2
Tomato9876 Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Edmonton, Alberta Posts: 57	Sure hope webOS stays around, it would be a shame for it to die off!

2010-04-28, 06:57 PM	#3
99semaj Veteran Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: /dev/null Posts: 2,663	Unfortunately, HP has little or nothing to offer in the way of best-in-class hardware expertise, and that's what the Pre really needed to complement its excellent WebOS.

2010-04-28, 07:08 PM	#4
BGY11 Veteran Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Calgary AB Posts: 3,165	While you don't hear much about them now, HP does still have an iPaq or two for business clients. If RIM bought Palm then WebOS would be gone. HTC would have been good, but with their focus on Android I think they wouldn't focus enough on a strong WebOS device without trying to skin it with Sense UI.

2010-04-29, 12:24 PM	#5
Gino Cerullo Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 582	Interesting development. It seems HP doesn't have much faith in Microsoft as a partner to deliver mobile operating systems so they are hedging their bets and buying Palm to ensure they have a future in the emerging mobile devices space.

2010-04-29, 01:00 PM	#6
Larry Veteran Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Ottawa, Ontario (Rogers) Posts: 1,521	This really makes me wonder what will become of Windows mobile. Unless they make a really big advance with their version 7, we may see the end of it in favour of Apple and/or Android.

2010-04-29, 01:13 PM	#7
dezzpayne Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Barrie, ON Posts: 1,374	Seems funny though, they had a great little phone, WebOS that everyone raves about yet couldn't get the job done. Sounds like the blame for their failure lands squarely on the shoulders of the executives. Perhaps they should outsource management and give the engineers fat bonuses?

2010-04-29, 02:50 PM	#8
rpr Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brampton, ON Posts: 484	I still don't think WebOS has reached anywhere near it's potential, hopefully HP will back the future development of the software and hardware, and expand it's reach.

2010-04-30, 04:53 PM	#9
Gino Cerullo Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Toronto, ON Posts: 582	Rumours are starting to spread that HP has killed the 'Slate' tablet that was shown at CES. I guess now that they've acquired Palm, they may be re-thinking the viability of Windows 7 on a low-power mobile device. Or, more likely, they saw how bad Windows 7 performed on a low power mobile device and decided that Palm's WebOS was a better bet. On a somewhat related note, Microsoft has confirmed that the 'Courier' dual-screen tablet is not really a product but nothing more than concepts for future technologies that may one day find their way into future products. I doubt it was ever more than a way to take attention away from the iPad and Google's Chromium OS.