Apple, RIM, Google all bid on Palm?

We're having a hell of a time believing this, but BusinessInsider's Dan Frommer is citing "a source familiar with the negotiations" as saying that RIM, Google, and Apple -- yes, Apple -- were all in the mix for Palm at one point or another as the bidding war went on earlier this year. We all know how that story ended up playing out, but prior to HP's winning bid, RIM allegedly made a generous offer and could've ultimately come away with the prize had it not failed to re-up the bid (and may have even reduced it, looking at Palm's SEC filings) after HP made its move. For its part, Google apparently made some not-too-serious moves, primarily in a perceived head game with Apple.

Speaking of Apple, the company was said to be in it primarily for Palm's sizable patent portfolio -- but is claimed to have also been interested in keeping the platform alive, possibly in an effort to compete in the physical QWERTY market where the iPhone has not. Of course, if you look way back, it's important to remember that Mac OS X itself is based on outside work (if you consider NeXT "outside"), so we guess that keeping webOS alive in some capacity after an Apple acquisition wouldn't be totally unprecedented -- but it'd still be really, really weird at best.

[wegap Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:47PM]

How Refreshing

[TomSawyer Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:49PM]

@wegap
i like the mockup of WebOS on the iphone lol

[Plazmic Flame Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:49PM]

@wegap

Very refreshing but definitely not surprising. If none of these companies were bidding, I would be very surprised. Especially RIM, they needed this bad.

[crawcraw Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:49PM]

@wegap maybe Apple could have used an antenna patent

[Jordus Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:51PM]

@engadget No. Steve Jobs would spend hundrends of millions just to spite someone who quit his company (rubenstein).

Yes, NeXt was outside work. Just because steve mobs was working for that company doesnt mean Apple created it. If not for Apple getting its hands on NeXt, it would be long gone.

[tu eres estupido Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:59PM]

@wegap WEBOS IPHONE?!?!? I BUY!

[Aubrey Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:59PM]

@wegap
Apple probably chimed in for talent purchase, not the existing framework of the company (hardware, dev languages, etc)

Don't get your panties wadded up that Apple was going to make a Pre...

[pufflye Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:04PM]

@wegap
yep of course the iPhone picture is right there

[a dumb cat Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:04PM]

I would take the apple part of the story with a fat wad of salt.

[liftedngifted1 Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:05PM]

@wegap Good Photoshoping Engadget...

[CDice Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:27PM]

@Jordus

"No. Steve Jobs would spend hundrends of millions just to spite someone who quit his company (rubenstein)."

And what proof do you have to back that up? Has Jobs ever spent a million dollars, let along hundreds of millions to just spite someone?

Jobs is a businessman, and a good one at that. He isn't an idiot. Only idiots would spend millions just to spite someone, and only idiots would think that business are in the business of spiting, not making money.

The Adobe situation is Jobs making a business decision that it's better for the valuable app market on the iPhone to be separate from it's competitors and that they gain little, and lose much to allow apps on it's iOS to be ran on other platforms. It's not spiting, even if it's portrayed (even by Jobs by his lack of clarity) to be so.

Companies are companies. Only people, humans, can be good or bad or have the ability to do something just to spite someone.

[Oghowie Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:44PM]

@TomSawyer If only that mockup was real....

[BiGD23 Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:11PM]

@CDice So Apple is a sentient company that makes it's own decisions?

[Jordus Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:47PM]

@HighestRanked2 this broke ass forum deleted my last post but to sum it up you are an idiot. Without NeXT apple was done for, they probably were also done for without the money MS gave them to keep going.

You need to wake up and smell the iCrap

[TjK Posted Jul 15th 2010 7:50PM]

RIM? seriously? they're going to be the ones being bidded for pretty soon.

[Booksmart Devil Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:14PM]

@TomSawyer

That photoshop is such a cocktease... Please let the Pre successor come in a candybar formfactor with or without a keyboard. WebOS running on iPhone 4 esque architexture? I'd orgasm.

[pk Posted Jul 15th 2010 11:38PM]

@TjK

I actually wish RIM won instead of HP. HP does not seem so serious about making new phones at all, more like tablets... and webOS printers... kinda ridiculous if you ask me... @_@

[proppat Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:47PM]

Simple, RIM needed a new OS bad. Google and Apple just wanted more patents for their portfolio.

[Knunez Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:48PM]

@proppat

Can't agree more.

[geniusdog254 Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:56PM]

@proppat Yeah definitely, I could see Apple having used the notification system maybe, but Google already has one.

Google could have used Cards though, since Apple is all against good multitasking and all I doubt they'd have used it

[d0mth0ma5 Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:59PM]

@geniusdog254 Apple couldn't buy the notification system, so they bought the Notification Designer instead.

[Aubrey Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:01PM]

@proppat
Ouuu good point... hadn't considered that. I previously commented that it was prob for talent purchase. I think either one is a legit speculation.

[atourgates Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:10PM]

@proppat Stop ruining my fantasies of AndroidOS!

Or iPhone hardware running WebOS. I'd happily take either.

[BrookLynnsFinest Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:14PM]

@Knunez

THIS

[ChrisSsk Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:26PM]

@proppat

Is Palm's patent portfolio really that great that would make Google and Apple willing to spend all that money just for that?

I'm sure Palm owns a number of patents but if they have any $1.2b worth patents, why didnt they use them as a last effort to make money before going down? ie. by licensing the technology or by suing everyone else

[geniusdog254 Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:01PM]

@d0mth0ma5 I thought El Goog got the notification guy? Or was that the UI guy they picked up?

[d0mth0ma5 Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:12PM]

@geniusdog254
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/09/palm-loses-webos-notifications-architect-to-apple/
http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/27/palms-matias-duarte-has-joined-google-as-user-experience-direct/

[geniusdog254 Posted Jul 15th 2010 6:44PM]

@d0mth0ma5 Thanks!

[KULawHawk Posted Jul 15th 2010 10:15PM]

@ChrisSsk

Palm's portfolio dates back so far & is well over any other mobile company's that includes some rather basic & often copied features that they really have no threat of being sued by a competitor sans a patent troll or frivilous lawsuit.  They spoofed the iphone sync & knew they had the guns to countersue anyone coming after them.  If Apple had Palm's patents on top of their extensive catalog, I'd very much worry their control over the market would kill any challengers or at the least keep them as lord over mobile while every other maker would have to pay their pretty share (tithe) to them to in royalties to license their pantented ip.

[SolidSnake Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:48PM]

No surprise. RIM needed it more though.

[nefnet13 Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:37PM]

@SolidSnake Damn did they ever. I am as stodgy and dead-set against bells & whistles as anybody you'll find on this site and BBOS just wore me out with its clunky interface and relentless blandness. It worked (and well, meaning it was not buggy), but I truly dreaded pulling the thing out of my pocket. No more.

[Axtor Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:49PM]

An Apple news story. Mmmmm. Refreshing and speculative.

[audrywienerdog Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:55PM]

@Axtor This story waa about multiple platforms. Not just apple. You knew that obviously.

[SolidSnake Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:08PM]

No, he didn't. He is incapable of coherent thought.

[Derek B Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:50PM]

That picture makes me feel funny in my bathing suit area.

[metformin Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:51PM]

i wonder what the world would have been like if a phone company purchased palm instead of hp?

[FrankDTank Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:51PM]

Got damn that pic looks sexy. Dammit apple. You have 40 billion in the bank. You should of made the move.

[Aubrey Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:46PM]

@FrankDTank
Actually, $23.16B
http://finance.yahoo.com/q/ks?s=AAPL

[JoshUng Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:52PM]

Still surprised that HTC didn't make a harder push, especially since this was right around the time of the Apple lawsuits, and it would have really helped their cause.

[mittortz Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:54PM]

@JoshUng
I'm glad they didn't. HTC doesn't seem to even know what a hardware keyboard is

[EGOvoruhk Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:57PM]

@mittortz

My Touch Pro2 begs to differ

[TenaciousJ728 Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:52PM]

If apple wins the bid, I hope they don't make expensive WebOS devices!

[justjc Posted Jul 15th 2010 7:05PM]

@TenaciousJ728 a bit late for that HP took over Palm at the beginning of this month.

This story speculates who else placed a bid, as it was rumored that there was, the story of what the different bidders did was presented in http://www.engadget.com/2010/05/16/hp-bought-palm-after-a-five-company-bidding-war/

[enaybee Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:52PM]

That all good and hP is the lucky winner. Where the hell is my HP webOS Slate?
Com'on HP hurry up.

[EvanSei Posted Jul 15th 2010 8:14PM]

@enaybee
it would be shelved by HP go check out the article over at news.com it made me wanna cry....almost

[o0o0noitzdanny Posted Jul 15th 2010 4:53PM]

I wonder how much apple pays Engadget for all of this publicity?

[Chris Ziegler Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:10PM]

@o0o0noitzdanny You're an idiot.

[BrookLynnsFinest Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:15PM]

@Chris Ziegler

WOW

Thank You for FINALLY defending yourself and attacking these trolls.

[archkron Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:27PM]

@Chris Ziegler

I wish I could uprank you.

[nefnet13 Posted Jul 15th 2010 5:39PM]

@Chris Ziegler Yeah I gotta say I smiled to see you take up the gauntlet for once.

If you gotta feed a troll, use rat poison!