No one really knows exactly what's going on inside the walls of Palm HQ this week -- whether the company will sink or swim is perhaps a bigger question right now than it has been since its rebirth last year, and if it
does swim,
whether it remains independent is another matter altogether. In an SEC filing today, Palm quietly revealed that its senior VP of software and services -- Michael Abbott (pictured above), a man who has been largely responsible for webOS as a platform and the critical Mojo and Ares SDKs -- will be gone as of April 23. More interestingly, though, it had to hook up a couple other key players with stock packages and $250,000 in cold, hard cash to get them to agree to stick around for a couple years: Jeff Devine, SVP of global operations, and Doug Jeffries, the CFO. Yes, that's right -- Palm's chief financial officer may have damn near split in the past few days, which is
never a good sign for a company whose financial stability is in question. More on this situation as it develops.
[Thanks, Herman]
Update: Since our original report, a number of SEC Form 4s have crossed the wire, indicating that Palm is handing out various quantities of shares to pretty much everyone on the executive roster. Acquisitions frequently involve retention deals for key company players to make sure that the buyer's new assets aren't instantly brain-drained, so it's entirely possible that this is all a harbinger of an impending deal.
posted April 16th 2010 8:53PM
"Yes, that's right -- Palm's chief financial officer damn near split in the past few days, which is never a good sign for a company whose financial stability is in question."
Palm's financial stability is in question? That's news to me... I thought the Apple wannabes were dead in the water when they tried to hack some 'iTunes' functionality with each passing OS release. They're completely toast.
@Wesscoast
Wesscoast? Being an idiot and praising the financial ruin of a company that created the smartphone and PDA as they came to be known?
Typical.
RIP Palm
They helped make today's devices possible.
I have been reading about what is happening with Palm with great interest. I love my Palm Pre. Bought it launch day from Sprint. I haven't had any issues with the keyboard. It has been a great, intuitive phone. I just wish I could understand how it managed to stay a hidden gem. Heck, it was only exclusive with Sprint for a few months. On a side note, I went to Sprint to get the phone and it has been a terrific experience. For the occasions where I contacted customer service, we understood each other perfectly as it not outsourced to the cheapest bidder for the service. Quality CSRs only. Admittedly, the occasions have been few and far between.
I really wish Palm wer doing better. I played with a Pre at verizon and WebOS is gorgeous. If it had some better hardware I'm convinced it would be my next phone. It seems like a middle ground between the iPhone and Android. Has the interface prettyness of an iPhone (prettier actually) and the ability to run whatever app like Android. That's a perfect combo in my opinion but it's crippled by poor optimization and/or poor hardware. :(
@hollis
The hardware really isn't that much of an issue any more. Do not deny yourself of the most wonderful personal device you could ever own. You love it more each day and TRUST ME, you will not regret it. WebOS just works and it's fantastic. Add homebrew on top of that and you won't dream of using another Mobile OS. Honest...
Palms is up for sale so it doesn't matter. http://Commentbug.com
@commentbug
is the commentbug homepage supposed to symbolize Palm's prospects of global domination?
thanks goodness.. i bought some puts
lol
looking very bleak .Sad to see one of the pioneering companies struggle to this extent .
So let me get this straight.
Instead of using dwindling financial resources to come up with an innovative idea to sell phones or (bing) use it to advertise, they decide to line upper management pockets with shareholders money.
This sounds like a cash grab to me and I would be furious if I was a shareholder. What's next, pay the ceo a few million to come up with an idea to get palm out of this predicament.
Wow... just wow.
Realistically, probably more than the SVP of Software-whatever said he was going to leave and the BoD said "We can't have everyone leave before we find a buyer!" so decided to hand out these retention bonuses until they could do that. They don't care about the stock because THAT will be paid for by the buyer at least indirectly. They used stock awards rather than stock option awards because they know the price has to drop (otherwise there would already be a buyer); restricted stock always has real value down to zero stock price while stock options go worthless if the stock price drops below their exercise price.
It's to bad we don't know what NONexecutives are leaving and/or got retention bonuses, too - would give ss a much better handle on how much of a disaster is happening internal to Palm.
@Altivec
You would be furious if you were holding Palm shares anyway, Bono. They're going to Absolute Zero and fast.
typical american management thinking: "hey, guys, you're doing a fine job running the company into the ground, here's some extra megabucks to keep doing it". sheesh.
(very glad I sold my stock at $14.something last year...)
Dude is just getting off a sinking ship.
I know if companies merge, they have to go to some board and basically prove that if they merge they won't become too big and possibly cause a monopoly.
Does the same thing happen with buyouts?
@BigJayDogg3
A merger and buyout are effectively the same thing. There are no real "mergers" since FASB killed "pooling of interests" accounting in 2001.
I remember how when the Pre was released, the commentators on this blog said Apple was finished, damn how times change. So much for listening to the wise men in the Engadget commentary.
So marks the end of the historic rise of Palm that brought the Star Trek tech of PDAs as a common word and tech into the lives of so many.
Soon, some new mysterious chapter will begin. I wonder how this affects the "promised" but much, much too late launch on AT&T.
All I can say is that I wish the company well.
I don't want it to sink. It's done too many good things in it's life.
I hope there's a merger. I don't really care with who. Palm has good tech to share with someone willing to exploit it.
Obviously a take-over is imminent. Sure would like to know if it's gonna be HTC .
Pleeeeeeeeease let HTC buy them.
@HighestRanked2 Just like they ran Windows or Android into the ground?? Your logic eludes me. The very reason for them to buy Palm is twofold:
- they buy an OS
- they buy a substantial patent -portfolio .
The assumption HTC is incapable of sustaining an OS or building it is unfounded ,you have no proof of this. They also already have experience with Android ( or did you think they weren't involved in development of that one and the smart-phones running that OS appeared out of thin air ? ) .I also doubt everyone at Palm would get sacked as a result of any take-over .The fact the management is abandoning ship doesn't mean all software engineers will do the same . An OS isn't made by any ONE man .
The fact HTC's CEO already mentioned developing their own OS indicates they have that expertise,it's just a matter of resources (i.e. money) and time it would take them to accomplish this. They might decide it's too expensive to build an OS from scratch and instead buy existing code to modify.
And let's not kid ourselves : Apple is nowhere near being market-leader,that is still Nokia by a substantial margin.
It's odd, since almost everyone save for a few weird appleytes talk favorably of WebOS this would make an interesting business study. What exactly happened at Palm in the last 2 year-3 years that simultaneously produced an innovative operating system, a renewed developer program, two new devices and an eventual failure. I recently bought two palm pre plus's from verizon, mostly because I didn't care much for android and I got the 2 pre's for $50's deal (which is an absolute steal even now really). I would have really liked to have seen WebOS introduced on a iphone-like device, since really the only thing stopping this was Palm's finances. Part of me was hoping the ship truly sank and palm would open source their entire operating system, essentially making WebOS portable to other phones, like the Nexus One. Oh well, maybe HTC will come calling when the stock goes low enough and Palm will get to keep motoring. What I worry for now is the thousand or so employees at Palm who almost pulled off a comeback and had it bungled by management.
@TheBear Oh, I know the answer!
First, it took them too long to join in the contemporary smartphone bandwagon, with flashy graphics and all. It's all about timing.
Second, they failed to do what RIM does amazingly well - corner the business market. They rested on their laurels, assuming they would continue to do well.
Third, they partnered with Sprint for 6 months when they should have gone big and released either on Verizon or all four major carriers. They were already going to have a tough sell in the iPhone and Droid marketplace, they only hurt themselves more.
Fourth, the marketing agency they hired completely blew it. I believe the internet calls this an "epic fail."
Fifth, the hardware is not very good on the Pre. The internals are about equal to the iPhone, but the screen is smaller. The externals are pretty, but flimsy and prone to breaking. The Pixi should never have existed as it splintered their focus. The Palm Pre Plus follows the Apple approach of releasing minor upgrades to hardware, but they should have focused on getting the next generation phone out.
seriooooooously tho...who for a second thought palm was gonna "make it"?
here's what needs to happen. Google should buy Palm or HTC and combine the features of webOS with android... that is the OS that will give apple and there ober rated iphone a swift kick in the ass off there pedastool. I love palm but this needs to happen!!!!
@HighestRanked2
If Apple bought Palm it wouldbt be competion it would be another branch of apple. Google should buy it and then that would really be competition. I agree with you that apple is ahead of the game, but not like they use to be. Android is right behind them and gaining on them. And with the HTC evo comming out with htc sense the iphone wont be king for long.
@HighestRanked2
I think Apple is concerned. They added half-hearted multitasking? They tried to add push notifications? What is unified mail? I believe these are all responses to the competition.
Well, the fact that Palm still has hiring beacons out for positions like Brand Management and engineers means this is likely a shuffle. But given the circumstances, of course Palm is going to have to make strong investments in the key staff they believe will help the recovery.
I still believe in Palm and WebOS. Even if Palm was to disappear they would have to pry my WebOS phone out of my clutching hands. It's just too superior and awesome to give up. Too bad all the management around WebOS was not quite as awesome.
Rumour has it that since the price drop and inclusion of free mobile hotspot the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus on VZW are selling like hot cakes! I hope Palm hasn't give up the ghost too soon.
I'm reading about how Palm didn't use it's IP to sue other companies when they could have if they really do have the IP that they're supposed to have. They also didn't get the memo when wooing developers with an unlocked phone. It was cheaper for a developer to just get on a Sprint contract and cancel after a year since the ETF was cheaper. What were these people thinking? Did they think they were so cool with WebOS that they didn't have to follow the rules that the rest of the industry follows? Weird!!!
several Chine IT giants have already negotiate with Palm. HTC & Lenovo seems to be the most competitive buyers. it's good for palm, anyway,'cause after releasing the news about acquisition, palm's share price is apparently ballooning.
Google or HTC need to hurry up and buy this outfit.
It would make bigger sense if HTC did it.
What are you noobs waiting for ???
hurry up and buy
Engadget got this story wrong. Abbot is a services guy, not a software guy. Same guy who bungled MS's .Net services. The guy behind the Pre software architecture is someone else.
Didn't Jon Rubinstein the CEO @ Palm used to run the iPod group at Apple? A good organization makes people replaceable. To me it looks like a cash grab by upper management . He probably left AFTER management decided to give the big bonuses. Looks to me he was the one straight guy in there thinking about the well being of the company.... ironic but plausible.
Also a great lesson that winning the hearts and minds of geeks is not a road to success. Android is doing the right thing by simply copying iPhone and not even pretending to be an innovative platform. Palm tried to innovate. That cost them. Google is in the copying and stealing business. That should help them. Ironic but that's how it rolls.
However, Palm's IP could be great for Dell or HP or Sony or HTC. But if the big boys get in the bidding I don't see how HTC can have the cash to pull it off.
Even someone crazy like Oracle can try and buy Palm to expand their business!
@jaffreywali
That really made me think. It was Palm in the first place that got this market started. They innovated with the pda. They innovated with webOS. Reminds me of Sega.
As long as a takeover keeps webos as it is
The thing is, if you ever use WebOS, a 4" screen and snapdragon would basically turn it into the best OS out there right now.... It pains me that it doesn't exist:P
Come on HTC buy Palm. I know it's a fantasy but you got to love the thought of webOS on HTC hardware. Maybe HTC could revive the company into the dominance it once had of the smartphone population. Unfortunately I doubt we'll see HTC buy them...
rats abandoning a sinking ship.
Dear Palm,
A while ago you acquired the IP for BeOS. You then proceeded to do absolutely nothing with it. Since you're going under anyways, and some other cell company is bound to buy you. Do you think you could opensource BeOS? BSD license would be great, but something free would be okay too.
There were a lot of people who knew that you were really afraid of the BeOS embedded project taking over the PDA market. But why you insisted on just shelving and pretty much killing BeOS is something that no one really understood.
So, do something good for us
Thanks,
SuperDuG
Update: Well, I guess someone wants those execs to make their takeover worthwhile. Betcha the other workers there get the shaft, tho...
their fault for staying exclusive for that long. they knew the iphone is already huge. they should have went all out on all carriers. who the hell uses sprint network neway
I bet Josh is SO happy now - all of his negative blog posts and cheap potshots at Palm are paying off. Thanks Josh, for helping this happen so fast.
I wanted to purchase a pre on AT&T this summer, but it looks like I'll have to stick with my iPhone. I don't want to use a dead platform.
Is that a Pre spotting? Sweet.
This isn't Palm keeping it's brain-trust, this is Palm executives feathering their own golden parachutes. I worked for Palm during 2007 and watched as Palm's executive management gutted the engineering brain-trust that had made Palm. Even Jeff Hawkin's who INVENTED the Palm Pilot (the first successful handheld computer) AND the first Netbook (remember the Folio) left in disgust at what the idiots in Palm executive management were doing to the company. I had hopes that the webOS people might be able to kick the bastards out and bring back Palm but, alas, I fear it's not going to happen.
So sad. In many ways Palm OS was the best of the hand-held device operating systems. It is still so fast and efficient compared to WinCE and iPhone OS. I still depend on my Palm TX about 15 times a day.