HP decides on Palm and webOS future this week

I’m not quite sure what the game plan HP had in mind when they purchased Palm some time ago, but it seems as though that is one plan that had fallen apart at the seams. The HP TouchPad did receive some buzz when it was introduced, but then again the tablet’s sales were stopped barely a month into its release. Signs point towards HP deciding on the future of Palm and its operating system, webOS, later this week after rumors of the company completing the initial bidding process for its webOS unit. An all-hands meeting is touted to be held tomorrow in order to reveal the future plans on whether HP will be selling or spinning off the group.
That would basically mean $1.2 billion or so down the drain after acquiring Palm, so it remains to be seen who else is going to pick up Palm and webOS. Perhaps the next Silicon Valley visionary is able to see what webOS can be in its entirety, or would Palm just be killed off, ending its relatively short life as a company?

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Amazon considering the acquisition of Palm from HP

It has been reported that Amazon could possibly be looking to acquire Palm from HP. According to a report from VentureBeat, the internet shopping giant is said to be in earnest talks with HP to buy what still remains of the franchise and its beleaguered mobile platform, WebOS.
The report cites a source which is well placed, stating that as HP is looking to do away completely with Palm, and Amazon has come up as the likeliest name in the list of prospective buyers which are likely to make the deal. The report also noted a connection between both the companies as the CEO of Palm, Jon Rubinstein, who is currently working with HP on the WebOS platform was a member of the board of directors of Amazon last year.
Rubinstein had pointed towards such a possibility of a potential partnership with Amazon in an interview back in July. He said that Amazon is an ideal partner in this regard as the company has a lot of characteristics which will help it in expanding the WebOS platform and its ecosystem. He, however, did not comment about whether there were already negotiations taking place between both the companies. During the interview, the WebOS chief from HP, Stephen DeWitt, also played up the qualities of the retail giant Amazon.
He said that Amazon has a very close relationship with its customers, which is unlike any other company in the market. He added that it helps Amazon in knowing about the preferences of its end users. A spokesperson from HP did not comment on the news, stating that the company doesn’t comment on rumors, whereas the representatives from Amazon weren’t available for a statement.
Palm was acquired by HP in April last year for a price of $1.2 billion in an attempt to gain recognition in the global mobile market. However, the company eventually struggled to get Palm’s WebOS to give decent competition to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android platforms. The company recently discontinued both WebOS and its recently released tablet, the TouchPad, a couple of weeks ago.
HP also announced some time ago that a split of the WebOS business is underway as the software operations are going to be transferred to another part of the company and that it will not develop any more hardware based on the OS during the fourth quarter.

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