HP and Palm have just issued a joint announcement that Palm will be acquired by HP. The cost of the deal is $5.20 per share, or $1.2 billion to purchase all outstanding shares of the company.
Palm will now become HP’s main mobile phone device infrastructure, replacing the aging iPAQ line as their flagship mobile device lineup.
While HP was not rumored in buyout talks, the pairing of Palm and HP has more synergy than other companies, such as Lenovo. Palm and HP are both headquartered in Silicon Valley, and Palm will be able to continue to operate with minimal immediate changes to the company’s strategy or path.
HP will gain webOS and be able to pursue new opportunities that may have been out of Palm’s reach. HP has been dabbling in both tablets (with Microsoft) and smartbooks (using Android). It is possible HP could even leverage webOS as a reliable, consumer-and-touch friendly variant of Linux to extend even to mainstream computing applications.
Great news,
M&A by HP, an American innovative company, minimum job loss impact!!
Thank You
As first order of business HP should open up the WebOS so it isn’t so locked down. They should also allow 3rd parties to license it for their devices. WebOS could be the replacement for Windows Mobile that we all expect Android to be.
I am kind of anxious to see what Palm can do when they have the resources of HP at their disposal. That just seems like a recipe for success.
I currently have the Palm Pro 850 with MS Mobile 6.1, I have never hated a device as much, nothing works on this phone, it has it’s own mind:
1.Text messaging sending/incoming if it works: random/delayed hours
2.Text messaging lacks “time stamp indicator”/random disappearance
3.”Media player” song “repeat mode”, stops after maximum 2X/ if that!
4.”Media player” “Next” button does not light up/dead for looks only
5. Phone can not add *82 or anything else to out going call number
6.”Missed Call”, first retrieve message,next,what # missed/no indication
7.Random repeated message “Pic/Video file too large to send/receive”
8.Repeat of above with triple vibrations until battery dies or is removed
9.Drops calls, Internet connection at random, even caller ID is random
10. Has failed to even connect a single time to MS Mobile for update
11. Don’t forget the “smudge magnet” finish/ Screen invisible outdoors
12. Barely Audible volume, missed call log almost never logs calls
11. SPRINT replaced it 4x (all refurbes) in the first 6 months alone
12. SPRINT Tec support @ Corp.stores unable to address any issues.
13. SPRINT solution: “MS is very buggy”, “drop your Plan” !
14. SPRINT Tier 2 tec support noted my account to attempt to flash the phone with Android, but the store refused following the instructions
15. HTC made it for Palm, neither supports the device! 16. Worst camera phone E V E R period
17. Poor Battery life
the good:
1. Candy bar form factor with touch screen Palm original/Android ideal
2. Black color
3. Hack for “forced roaming”
4. Hack for “Internet sharing”
5. WiFi
Most of the above issues are clearly due to MS mobile OS, too bad neither Palm/HTC, MS, or SPRINT have any sense of pride for their product, “you bought it you own it”!
Thank You
that a big move
I’m just glad it’s still an American company that has a place in the market, didn’t want them gobbled up by foreign hands. Web OS is so good and now with HP it will get power
@f1
The phone has great hardware but like you stated it has a horrible OS. You should install a custom rom or just get the pre. My mom has and she likes it.
Thanks JJ,
I remember you sharing that your mom had the Palm Pro 850 last summer, the Pre is too small for me and I don’t know how to go about a “custom Rom”, I would love to get Android on there or even try the Web OS on this device, no help at the SPRINT store as usual.
I appreciate any guidance you can provide me on that, otherwise, Summer of choices, are just around the corner!
Thank you
All the choices for custom ROMs on the Sprint Treo Pro are here:
http://forum.ppcgeeks.com/forumdisplay.php?f=102
Palm and HTC both have typically handed ROM upgrades to the enthusiast community, aside from one-off upgrades. Yes, you can upgrade to Windows Mobile 6.5 rather easily, and it can be reversed if you aren’t happy with the unofficial upgrade.
Just keep in mind that these updates are not tested by Sprint nor Palm, so while they may fix some issues, they can also create issues in other areas. Be prepared for bugs to not always be fixed.
Also, remember that Palm moved away from Windows Mobile at the same time that Microsoft was preparing to. I don’t blame Palm for not upgrading to Windows Mobile 6.5, Microsoft waited (far too long) until Windows Phone 7 to implement a logical, necessary firmware upgrade protocol.
@Chris
Nice point of reference!
Thank You much!