HP to Buy Palm for $1.2 Billion
Hewlett-Packard plans to buy struggling phone maker Palm for $1.2 billion. The purchase of Palm would give HP assets that include the Palm webOS mobile operating system, both the Pre and Pixi phones, and significant wireless know-how to help bolster HP’s wireless ambitions.
The announcement, which came just after the U.S. stock market closed on Wednesday, follows rumors this week of a number of suitors, including Lenovo and HTC, vying to buy the iconic brand. Some have speculated that HP, whose Windows 7-based Slate tablet is expected sometime this year, could also get an edge in the tablet market with Palm’s WebOS — rather than just putting out Windows-based tablet. Others speculate buying Palm gives HP the ability to compete more squarely with companies such as Apple that build both the hardware and software for its mobile devices.
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