HTC decides against bidding for Palm, kills our buzz
By Vlad Savov 
posted April 23rd 2010 2:26AM
posted April 23rd 2010 2:26AM
[Thanks, ninellec]
posted April 23rd 2010 2:26AM
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@Kwame Nkrumah Engadget editors, please implement per user comment blocking so that I can block obnoxious users such as this...fellow... here.
I really didn't see this as a good move by HTC. Palm's hardware is not great, certainly not better than what HTC is already producing. Palm's OS has already failed. Why pay money to try and prop up another OS, that few developers are creating for, when Android is already free? The only value Palm brings to the table is its Patent Portfolio, which could be used as ammo in the upcoming Apple battle. And if that is all your buying my guess is your offer is going to be far below what Palm wants. Who every buys Palm is either going to want the name and or the Patents. Other than that it has no value in the market place.
I wonder if Google didn't have a hand in this decision.....
No one is going to step in - Android with a different UI is better, more widely accepted, and cheaper by far.
Any company that pays a billion bucks for what Palm has to offer is insane.
BTW - this story, if true, rather completely quashes the "Palm Patent Portfolio is VALUABLE" angle, huh?
well it look like palm is just gonna have to step up their quilty when producing hopefully newier phone.
I still think can do something great but only time well tell.
its a shame.
htc should buy palm get webos, and have their own awsome mobile os. but seems they simply happy produce devices for second rate androshit os. yawn.
@eka You mean Android the best mobile Os, and the only one really competing with iPhone Os is shit? You must be a fanboy or a troll
Nothing to stop HTC licensing webos and coming out with their own device...
Dear Lenovo,
Great, HTC declined. They can continue making awesome Android handsets. Now It's YOUR MOVE. PLEASE BUY PALM!!!!!!!!!!
K, Thx.
I think before any company buys out Palm, they'll most likely want to license for a year or two first and put the WebOS on some existing hardware. If the sales are good then perhaps buy Palm.
What remains though is that during the licensing Palm will control the apps market which is a big issue. If HTC or any company were to license WebOS, they'll for sure want some royalties on any apps sold to their users.
STAY STRONG PALM! You had it with the pre....you just.had.the.wrong.DREAM.
i love webos. i'm extremely experienced with all current phone os's and so far is by my favorite. now with the new speed patch...=D
lol @ "synergies".
pointless corporate language is just funny sometimes.
Just let Palm die already. If HTC would have bought them, I was just hoping they would rip some of the tech, maybe launch their own OS based on Palm's, then drop the Palm name completely. Let's play a word game, when I say a word, you say the first thing that comes to mind: PALM --------> blah
Bono will be pissed.
:(
Palm is way overpriced. HTC probably needs to see a dramatic drop in their share price before they scoop it up. That'll likely happen on it's own. Question is, will someone sneak in before then?
Palm may be hesitant to let the People's Republic own their company.
Why pay more when you can get it (Android) for free. HTC has SENSE UI, and it can modified android core system. WebOS is not feasible when it came down to costs.
Smart move for HTC, Palm's dead weight would have sunk them too.
Hardware styling between Palm and Lenovo seem to already be on the same page, judging from Lenovo's curvy new devices.
I think that there should be a strategic partnership between the two.
Palm's hotrod webOS with Lenovo's solid designs and build quality = Perfection.
Viva Lenovo+Palm!!!!
I wonder if this also reflects on HTC's views on their lawsuit with Apple. Besides the normal risk vs. rewards that have the added factor of being sued. I thought Palm's patents alone was enough to get HTC to buy Palm, but either HTC thinks they don't need the patents, or the patents wouldn't help anyway, or Palm's financials are really THAT bad.
Google should buy palm and merge the best WebOS features with Android...boom, perfect OS...seriously.
good job HTC! they dont have to buy any other OS for their hardware.. they should stick with Android..
I want to cry at the sight of this news.
this is pretty unfortunate for Palm actually.
I think this is the result of a number of factors; Palm's patent portfolio isn't worth a premium price - though it does have value, HTC has been working pretty diligently to establish their own brand and doesn't need Palm and finally, with so much competition entering the market, why complicate things with an acquisition of this kind?
HTC cranks out at least 3 or 4 phones each year - each one outshines the previous - that's development at a break neck pace.. and with Dell in the market now - in direct competition, they need to focus.
Honestly, I think it’s for the best. If HTC would have purchased Palm, they would have dissolved WebOS and purchased them primarily for the patents. In a fairytale reality, HTC could have developed their own hardware with their own software, but that’s not feasible. HTC is a hardware company, not a software company. Software companies, such as Microsoft and Google, write the operating systems, not HTC. This is why HTC continually fails to release timely updates for existing hardware. They simply do not have a sufficient software engineering department to develop updates for all products. Purchasing Palm would have been a disaster for WebOS and could have affected HTC’s relationship with other manufacturers. What Palm needs is a company with deep pockets that wants to focus on the development of WebOS, not hardware. Then, contract hardware from manufacturers that do it well (like HTC, Motorola, Nokia, Sont, etc.)
Ok, HTC is out.
Google, you're up!
@Hbishop Give me that U1 hybrid with webOS already.
I would really like to see Palm join with RIM, they are similarly oriented devices, and PalmOS UI is, in my opinion, is much better than RIM. At this point I think UI is the name of the game. They have the corporate down pat, but I think that won't be as hard to compete with by other companies, especially those using Android.
RIM, move it or lose it! Palm can tell you all about that!
I'm surprised so many people are so upset about this. I mean if Palm can, I would rather them survive on their own and license out WebOS. Then you could just as easily get an HTC WebOS device, and palm can stay its own company.
Hope Palm doesn't end up dying a slow, sad, IP licenser death like Transmeta.
@monkeycrackers
> Hope Palm doesn't end up dying a slow, sad, IP licenser death like Transmeta.
Or Tandy? Or Commodore? Or Leading Edge? Or Wang? Or Lucient Technologies? Or... (shall I go on?)
Or, actually, like Betamax for Sony or the Amiga for Commodore? I can think of lots and lots of examples of failed companies and products which died due to gross mismanagement or lack of vision, ability to maintain traction, and so forth.
@ScifiSurfer Or...
Sorry, I totally forgot about this one, but here's a PERFECT example...
What about Be, Inc.? Same exact situation, same outcome.
It may be sad, but it's the way of things.
There's no synergies probably because palm wants to function as a standalone unit within the acquiror
I'm glad that HTC didn't buy Palm. They would just use Palm's patents and dissect webos in to android anyway.
Face...wait for it...Palm.
@Engadget Oh please, give it a rest already! HTC smells the stench of death all around Palm and it's webOS platform. Who can really blame them for showing sense here?
And for what it's worth, here's what former Apple, Be, Inc., and PalmSource executive Jean-Louis Gassée has to say on the matter:
http://www.mondaynote.com/2010/03/21/who-will-buy-palm/
I rest my case.
@Yankees Win But it's not about Palm's WebOS - it's about getting access to all the patents that make the Apple patent infringement claims go away, because they would have a smartphone patent portfolio that would kill Apple in any suing-countersuing situation.
Sadly, WebOS is going to die with Palm, which is a pity, because it's fantastic. But HTC could have made so much out of the patent portfolio...
Palm is losing because of it's lack of Hardware. I look at this case and I feel a foreboding feeling about my beloved RIM. I haven't ever had a RIM product brick on me ever since I started using them in 1999. Once my contract is finished, I will buy another Blackberry. The only thing I worry about is will RIM continue to be around? The hardware, and operating system hasn't changed in eons, which is good because it's always reliable. But I fear that if RIM doesn't impress that they may be in the same situation as Palm sooner rather than later. I don't want RIM to die out, but I can't help thinking of RIM whenever I see PALM. I love and want a BlackBerry for the rest of my life, but it has yet to be seen if RIM will last a decade, and Palm I think has 5 years left, max.
There's always HTC/Palm ship fanfic, right?
Had to go back to this post and write...
LOL... smooth HTC... smooth!