Palm, Inc. today announced that Palm stockholders have approved proposals that will permit Palm to conclude a $325 million investment by Elevation Partners, L.P., borrow up to $400 million in an associated debt financing, make a cash distribution of $9.00 per share to Palm stockholders, and make related adjustments to its equity plans.
In other actions, the stockholders elected Gordon Campbell and Donna Dubinsky as Class II directors to serve until the annual meeting of Palm stockholders to be held in 2010, and ratified the appointment of Deloitte & Touche LLP as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the fiscal year ending May 30, 2008.
“We appreciate our stockholders’ strong support of these proposals and look forward to an era of renewed innovation and focused execution at Palm,” said Ed Colligan, president and chief executive officer, in the press release.
In connection with this transaction, Palm will appoint Jonathan Rubinstein, who headed Apple’s iPod business, will become executive chairman of the Board of Directors. Rubinstein also spearheaded development of Apple’s iMac, as well as being part of Apple’s inner circle when Steve Jobs joined the computer company. Fred Anderson, Apple’s former finance chief, will join Palm’s board. Investor Roger McNamee also becomes a Palm director.
MacDailyNews Take: It’s possible that some or all of these ex-Apple execs have an axe to grind. Unfortunately for them, Palm is more like a rapidly melting Jello Pudding Pop. Happy grinding, guys!
” . . . ‘and look forward to an era of renewed innovation and focused execution at Palm,’ said Ed Colligan”
How many failed attempts to do they get?
Shouldn’t he change his name to Ed Mulligan?
Good luck to em.
It’s like when a team wins the super bowl. All the assistant coaches get to be couches themselves.
@ MDN Please prepare the bath for lots of BLOOD!!!! I look forward to that Headline with lots of ticipation!!!
couches??
I know that there is a lot of armchair quarterbacking going on here but….couches?
Sofa.
Sofa things are going swimmingly at Palm.
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No Squirt For You
As many failed attempts as Apple got. That’s how many…
Clearly, MDN really doesn’t like Palm! Perhaps there could be a slight doubt in someone’s mind that something good may yet happen with the new people on board?
Or not.
“Clearly, MDN really doesn’t like Palm!”
Perhaps because Palm threw Mac users under the bus years ago.
Apple can only benefit from the innovations of their competitors, whoever they are. Unfortunately for all of Apple’s competitors, including Palm, the most innovative products (by far) coming out of the computer industry these days belong to Apple. Whatever else any of Apple’s competitors do is really irrelevant, although we could definitely do without all the mean-spirited Apple bashing from various quarters.
Remeber when Ed Colligan laughed at the iPhone? I wonder who’s laughing now.
http://www.macdailynews.com/index.php/weblog/comments/11695/
The open source and hacker community has been able to accomplish more in the past 2 months developing for the iPhone without Apple’s help than Palm has accomplished with their OS in the past 12 years.
Bury ’em Steve. Put them out of their misery.
slike: Aren’t you too clever for this site?
Apple, the company, only made one failed attempt.
They attempted to make a go of it without Steve Jobs.
How did Palm hurt Mac users? Enlighten me, because I just don’t know.
Didn’t Fred Anderson, Apple’s former finance chief, have to shell out a couple of million for stock fraud committed whilst at Apple?
I reckon Anderson is an ‘established big-business’ shill, paid for by the likes of Microsoft to slip in like a manchurian candidate. Anything to f* Apple up, upsetting the ‘way things work’.
I hope Steve pays enough attention to this, realizes how high the stakes are, don’t want to be another Paul Wellstone or live too close to fault lines.
Here, here, Andy C.! And that’s why I’ll be dumping my Treo 650 for an iPhone when my Cingular contract ends next month.
Palm as a smartphone(?) company doesn’t deserve to survive when they’ve made no substantial improvements in hardware or OS since 2004. Palm Garnet is looking VERY tired indeed in 2007, and I for one have supported it long enough.
All I hear from Mr. Colligan is empty rhetoric and empty promises. Palm are behind the times and the eight ball. And I don’t see them getting out alive.
John Gee,
One example:
It’s old news — from about a year ago, actually — but Palm has once again shafted Mac users by providing their Palm TX Enterprise Security Update (which adds support for stronger Wi-Fi encryption methods and authentication protocols) via a Windows-only installation process. Someone has probably figured out a hack to get this to work with Macs, but it’s just one more example of how little Palm values its Mac-based customers.
I hope that Apple destroys the market for Treos with the iPhone. It would serve Palm right.
http://lylejohnson.name/blog/?p=188
It’s possible that some or all of these ex-Apple execs have an axe to grind.
That’s just stupid. You don’t shell out $325 million cash and borrow another $400,000,000, to grind an axe.
This was a business decision based on what the buyers felt they could do with the company.
Obviously, Palm under current management, is a floundering weakling, just as Apple was back in ’96. Under the right management, and with a capital infustion, there is no reason to believe that Palm could not execute a similar turn around.
This is business. It is not personal. Only time will tell if it was a good business decision, as Apple backers from the mid ’90s are aware.
I expect more than this from MDN editors.
To Parkinni:
You probably don’t have to wait a month to dump your Treo; AT&T;will just enroll you in another 2 year agreement when you buy your iPhone, and they won’t charge you a cancellation fee.
As far as Palm is concerned, this may be its last hope at survival. Rubinstein may be able to help them develop a new, competitive handheld device, and perhaps he can become Palm’s version of Steve Jobs.
But I don’t see it, not unless a serious competitor to the iPhone is developed, and quickly. Rubinstein can use the Treo line to tread water until such a device is developed, but he’s going to have a tough time getting around Apple’s patents and avoiding other design issues.
Don’t forget: Apple Computer was left for dead until Steve came back and drastically changed the product offerings, while staying true to the core business focus. Then Apple developed OS X and the iPod. If Rubinstein can follow the same blueprint, Apple may have a worthy competitor in a couple of years. And that’s good for everyone.
The last thing we want is Apple being the sole company capable of developing quality products. Even Apple needs to be pushed by competition to develop the next big thing.
Palm Dumps Mac Support – February 10, 2004
http://www.brighthand.com/default.asp?newsID=10900
I’d root for Palm if they hadn’t abandoned us Mac users and left us for dead years ago.
As far as I’m concerned, I’m in 100% agreement with MDN:
Palm must die.
Fred “Convict” Anderson attempted to implicate Steve Jobs in the options mess that Anderson and his underlings created and for which Anderson had to pay millions to settle with the SEC in order to keep himself out of prison.
So Palm has a convict and Rubinstein, the guy who couldn’t hold a candle to Tony Fadell. Whoopdeedoo!
It’s entirely possible that there’s an axe to grind.
Palm’s mobile hardware and software are irrecoverably behind Apple’s heavily patented mobile hardware and software.
Expect a quick turnaround with Palm. These ex Apple executives are the ones that really turned Apple around. With their knowledge, Palm will surely knock the iPhone and even the iPod out of the market easily.
What Palm really needs to do is to go fsck themselves.
Karma’s a bitch.
Originalrecipes,
Keep dreaming.
If retards dream, that is.
@KFC
I know you guys are all worried that the real creators of the iPod are now at Palm. Sorry if your knees are all shaking. Your reply is a typical knee jerk reaction of fear. Within a year, I’m sure all of you fanboys here will be asking yourself what happened. Go back and read my post then and you’ll remember I was right.
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I don’t mind if Palm manages a turnaround. If they do, they’re producing really good, usable stuff. Just like Apple. After all, the original recipe for a turnaround means doing something well and being recognized for it.
Thanks, Originalrecifeces, for reminding us how amazing Apple’s comeback is and how amazing it would be for Palm to try to emulate Apple’s success. Considering Palm’s size, thy should be as big as Apple 1995 in about 15 years. Enjoy the ride, dude.
@R
Another colorful retort from R. Typical, pulling out false information from his rectum. I suppose the R stands for that certain body part that the sun never shines on correct? Anyway, don’t be so upset. Apple had a nice run, now Palm is about to be the leader again as it should be. Since they are the true innovators of the PDA market.
Originalrecipes,
The father of the iPod is engineer Anthony M. Fadell, Apple Inc.’s Senior Vice President of the iPod Division, who succeeded Jon Rubinstein in 2006.
http://www.wired.com/gadgets/mac/news/2004/07/64286
This concludes retard class.
@KFC
Thats probably incorrect. Manipulated data coming from Apple since they are angry with these executives who bailed out of Apple. Knowing that Apple didn’t properly recognized their real contribution to their iPod success. Chalk it up to RDF induced mind control for you Fanboys.
Ruffled your feathers, I see, O. You’re right, Palm did deserve respect years ago. They seemed to have grabbed a baton and headed full-sprint for the future. Until they dropped it and now need saving.
Needing to be saved is not a negative judgement against them. They’re just clearly not on the right track yet.
Your ad hominem attacks are pretty weak, though– but I’m sure you know that already and have little else to throw out for us to read. Considering the frequency and content of your posts, you have little else going for you.
I, for one, welcome your posts. I’m all for keeping youth busy.
Palm was a pioneer and even today the Treo Palm OS has more functionality than the iPhone (in a much uglier and less elegant interface). The Treo hardware is still a great smart-phone, but the Palm OS is woefully behind the times.
I hope this works out for Palm. I’ve been a customer for years. However; if we ever get true support for 3rd party iPhone apps that will allow the iPhone to do what the Palm can, then I’d be an ex-Palm customer in a heartbeat.
Originalrecipes: Why are you such a douchebag? I’m guessing that you’re really, really lonely and trolling is the only hobby you could figure out.
MW: truth. Hurts?
Palm is in rather dire straits, but if anyone can pull them out of it, Ruby can.
-jcr
KFC,
Tony Fadell isn’t the VP of the iPod division anymore. He succeeded Ruby and is now in charge of all hardware development at Apple.
-jcr
No fingers just a palm, can’t do much with that except swat flies. No way to touch with a palm
This group includes Bono as well. Seems like his buddy Steve Jobs would have warned him.
If Apple comes up with a way to sync notes between the computer and iPhone (and I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s included in the improved iCal that’s in Leopard), that might be the one thing that would kill off Palm.
With flash drives increasingly cheaper (picked up a 1GB for $9.99 at Office Max not too long ago), how many people really need to work on Office documents on a teeny screen like the average Palm? Better to stick them on a small drive then plug that into a USB port at your destination if you don’t bring along your own laptop. And not having work on your PDA/phone means more time to actually relax and unwind, which we need to learn to do more often or we’re all going to wind up with major coronaries from high blood pressure and other stuff.
Damn! Did Zune Tang get on meth and change his name to originalrecipes? That meth ain’t funny…..
Oh! Also, there’s something fishy about the term “Palm Shareholder”….
The new Palms is coming. Smaller and in white. Which looks awesome. I don’t get why you all like the iPhone so much. It’s got nothing usable on it without having to use two hands. The Palm has all the buttons you need right there and you can use one hand while you work on it. Heck you can even use your thumb to have full access on it. This is going to be a big seller and its probably going to be cheaper than the iPhone. New Palm and new BBs are just slamming the iPhone down right now. September numbers will show that, I hope I didn’t burst your happy feel goody bubbles that you get when fondling that iPhone.
“. . . you can even use your thumb to have full access on it.”
Just like you. Coincidence?
Why does the headline not include the word “beleaguered” or the line “more blood on the iPhone’s multi-touch screen”?
Originalrecipies is a silly little girl, isn’t she?
Hey these guys did great work at an important time turning around Apple (even if the press release misstates it). We wouldn’t be so smug with out the work done under these guys. I wish them well.
There is plenty of room for both Palm and Apple in this world. I don’t think it’ll go that way but Palm doesn’t need to die. The idea isn’t to be like MS and call it a success when you wipe out all the minor players a la Zune. The idea is to innovate and build new markets… and just maybe take a bit out of the Evil Empire.
“Manipulated data coming from Apple since they are angry with these executives who bailed out of Apple”
Umm.. I worked at Apple for three and a half years, and I don’t recall hearing any rumblings that anyone was mad at either Ruby or Fred Anderson when they left. They did great work, they cashed out, and good for them.
I interviewed for the software manager job on the iPod group, BTW. Bummer that I didn’t get it, but Jeff Robbin has certainly done a fine job running iTunes development. Tony Fadell ran the iPod group from the beginning, and he was reporting to Ruby, who was in charge of hardware overall.
When I did get a job at Apple a few months later, I was in the developer relations group, and I can tell you from first-hand knowledge that we didn’t think of Palm as any kind of enemy or rival to Apple. They were a developer like any other.
-jcr
For those who did not read the Palm comments — ” Colligan laughed off the idea that any company — including the wildly popular Apple Computer — could easily win customers in the finicky smart-phone sector. ‘We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone,’ he said. ‘PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in.'”
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Palm CEO Ed Colligan is in for a rude awakening.”
I do not think that MDN has it in for anyone (except for MS
%20but%20when%20company%20execs%20belittle%20Apple%20it%20is%20a%20bit%20humorous%20when%20it%20comes%20back%20to%20bite%20them%20in%20the%20same%20orifice%20that%20their%20original%20statement%20came%20from.%20img%20src=http://www.macdailynews.com/images/smileys/grin.gif)
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Maybe Dell should sell the company and give the money back to the share holders.
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First blood on the touch screen???
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en
MDN = between Between a rock and a hard place .
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O, please. Your ability to twist truth reminds me of Jack Murtha.
Perhaps because Palm threw Mac users under the bus years ago.
MAC has been there many times by other companies.
Adobe, Microsoft just to name a few.
Yet like the energizer bunny… Apple keeps going.
And plays on a field that continues to appeal and improve…
SHOWING the industry BETTER ways.
APPLE is a GEM
Mud from the bus just washes off gems far more easier.