HP’s press release states, “The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.”
MacDailyNews Take: Unparalleled? Puleeze. Somebody grab the shovels.
“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, in the press release. “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.”
“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 Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm, in the press release. ”We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners.”
MacDailyNews Take: Iconic in regard to shoddy build quality, maybe. For such a skinny guy, Jon sure is full of more than his fair share of shit.
Under the terms of the merger agreement, Palm stockholders will receive $5.70 in cash for each share of Palm common stock that they hold at the closing of the merger. The merger consideration takes into account the updated guidance and other financial information being released by Palm this afternoon. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of Palm’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close during HP’s third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2010.
Palm’s current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.
Source: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
MacDailyNews Take: Here’s what we wrote over 15 months ago, just after beleaguered Palm unveiled their Palm Pre and webOS: “Palm’s Pre dog and pony show is nothing more than takeover bait. They simply do not have the resources necessary to create another mobile platform, especially one that is superfluous. If Palm’s Pre is not a ruse, then those responsible are kidding themselves.” – MacDailyNews Take, January 21, 2009
Okay, so who’s salivating over an HP webOS phone and/or slate PC with no ecosystem of which to speak? That’s right, no one who doesn’t look forward to spending at least 24 hours cooped up alone inside the server room. iPaq.
Buh-bye, Palm.
Now, we need another prescient quote to which we can repeatedly refer going forward, so here:
HP’s acquisition of Palm means that not only is HP sick and tired of being stuck with and dependent upon perpetual laggard Microsoft, but, more importantly, yet another smartphone/slate PC OS will live to confuse the market. This will significantly benefit the one company that has repeatedly proven its ability to distinguish itself above all others: Apple. The more confused the marketplace, the faster customers will flock to Apple’s trusted brand and quality products.
Have a nice evening, Microsoft and Google. You, too, RIM and Nokia. 
Here are some fun quotes we’ve iCal’ed over the years:
• We’ve learned and struggled for a few years here figuring out how to make a decent phone. PC guys are not going to just figure this out. They’re not going to just walk in. – Palm CEO Ed Colligan, November 20, 2006
• Why would we price ‘Pre’ less than iPhone when we have a significantly better product? – Palm CEO Ed Colligan, January 10, 2009
• June 29, 2009 is the two-year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone. Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later. – Palm backer Roger McNamee, March 05, 2009
• No comment. – Palm spokesman Derick Mains on the future of the company, March 10, 2010
@breeze
it’s “wherewithal”
HP + Palm should be an interesting competitor
‘Tards
jfort:
Where with all that money are you gonna buy a vision?
Exactly when did the Palm Pre become iconic? Just sayin.
HP would rather blow “approximately $1.2 billion” than use Microsoft’s smart phone software. So, Steve Ballmer, what do you think of that? I bet you can’t give that cell phone turd OS away to try to keep the tiny market share you have.
H-Palm probably made the move to keep Dell from picking them up. Too bad. Making Jon work for Michael Dell would’ve made Rubinstein realize just how low he has fallen.
True multitasking… True multitasking… True multitasking…….
That has been like the only thing Palm has been able to say for the past 1.5 years. What the heck is True multitasking… Is there such thing as False Multitasking? It seems no one care that much about “True multitasking”.
About the aqusition I think that Rubebstein should jump ship and not go to HP. If he does it’s my prediction that he will quit within a year. This Is the day when Palm the company, the brand, the technology dies. I don’t think HP is the right company to drive Palm forward. HP has tried before with things like MP3-players and even phones I think and HP does not have the right culture to do these kind of things. HP is a big boring company for the enterprise.
This will fail.
This is the day when Palm the company, the brand and the technology dies…
This was all masterminded by SJ years ago. Jon Rubinstein is an Apple mole. Now they’ve orchestrated the downfall of 2 of Apple’s competitors!
It’s conspiracy, I tell ya.
Any company that can load my computer with three hundred million bytes of code just for a stupid printer driver can’t code their way out of a wet pad. Just wait until HP has enough time to get their software engineers into that thing. There isn’t enough flash memory in the universe to support it.
Curious. How much of this purchase is a statement that Windows Mobile whatever is DOA?
Wow…HP would buy the Titantic if they it were for sale.
So, Apple has its own Mobile OS, Dell has Android, HP has Palm, who else is sitting without a dance partner? Sony has Symbian, who’s gonna dance with Microsoft? Blackberry? Moto?
I think this has more to do with Dell’s push into the mobile market than anything.
I think this is an incredible opportunity for HP. Being that Palm has the rights to BeOS, if HP wanted to they could use that as the basis to their hardware offerings and tack on WebOS as the front end, allowing them to step out of the Microsoft Tax that they currently have had to deal with. Hopefully this is something they are considering which would finally give Apple decent competition to encourage further innovation.
I can’t see this helping HP in the coming mobile device wars. Apple’s advantage comes from controlling all of the pieces of the ecosystem and the tech that underlies it. While it comes in several flavors, OSX is at the heart of every Apple device above the iPod. What technology will an HP WebOS device share with anything else HP makes?
Microsoft theoretically could do a universal base OS, but it will never happen in a real world. Google’s Android could also do it, but so far the Android experience is fragmented and inconsistent.
If nothing else, it gives a shot in the arm to the WebOS platform in terms of app development. Developers can at least be sure HP isn’t going out of business anytime soon.
Apple should be fine if HP’s app store is designed by the same people who design the other HP consumer web sites. They are horrible.
@ Hm…
Quote from HP VP of Strategy and Corporate Development Brian Humphries:
“We intend to continue to be a strategic partner for Microsoft. They’re a huge piece of our business today, and will continue to be so.”
http://www.precentral.net/hp-continue-making-windows-mobile-phones
“We’re thrilled by HP” said Jon Rubinstein
No shit! This has got breathing a sigh of relief.
HP is out of their minds to drop $1.2B on Palm.
They should have waited another two weeks. They could have had it for a measly $250m. That would have saved them $950m.
I guess they are going to make their cheap printers cheaper.
More garbage from HP when they realize their mistake. Time to short their stock.
I just don’t get the justification for the buy?
Regardless of the prescience of MDN’s take on WebOS, Pre, et al. HP with WebOS is, in my mind, the worst case scenario for a Palm takeover. HP has the resources to create a WebOS ecosystem using Apple as the template. I doubt they will ever be able to achieve the elegance of OS X, but they will try to use it to differentiate themselves as Apple does with OS X commanding a premium for their products.
This is a good move for HP. I’m glad Palm employees will still have a job. When I say employees- I mean the real workforce- not the guys that brought Palm down. Jon should remain though… as janitor.
We have to remember that no matter what us apple users think there are people in this world who will not buy apple products because they believe them to be too pricey.
I had it said to me on several occasions and no matter what I say to the doubters they don’t take it in and later come to show me their latest acquisition which is not apple branded but “it is a bargain”, or so they tell me.
Therefore ho acquiring palm may be good in the end for the Luddites of this world. It might not be osx but it could turn out to be a decent operating system for them, and if it help the world get rid of Microsoft and it’s over-rated product what’s the harm.
As in real life there are those at the top and the rest of us trying to achieve that status so let’s live and let live a little, I mean, think about it, if there was only one tv channel or one brand of beer would we all be happy? I don’t think so.
Talk about $1.2 billion spent in a wrong way. I see a future HP shareholder lawsuit.
The hubris of some Mac users is becoming intolerable. I own 4 Mac’s, numerous iPods, and iPhones seem to be breeding like rabbits in my household, but don’t assume for one minute that the rest of the world is dumb. HP is a reasonably good company and they would have a compelling business case for the purchase….even if not as clear to those of you drinking the Apple Cider.