Switched has a new home! Huffpost Tech.

Click here to visit the new home of Switched!

Hot on HuffPost Tech:

See More Stories
AOL Tech

HP to Purchase Palm to Revitalize its Smartphone Future

by Terrence O'Brien on April 28, 2010 at 05:20 PM

HP Invests in Smart Phone Future by Buying Palm
It's no secret that, despite garnering tons of hype, Palm's Web OS was simply too little and too late in the game to compete with smart phone powerhouses. Maybe it was the super creepy ads. Maybe it was the questionable exclusivity deal it struck with Sprint. Whatever the straw was that broke the proverbial camel's back, Palm has found itself trailing far behind in the mobile OS wars. Rumors had been circulating that everyone from Lenovo to HTC was getting ready to purchase the company and bail it out of its mess. Today, the speculation came to an end with the surprise announcement (via Twitter, of course) that HP had acquired the handset maker for a cool $1.2 billion.

HP has dabbled in the past with Windows Mobile-based smart phones but has never been considered a serious competitor in the field. The company is clearly looking to change that by leveraging some of the more advanced features of the Web OS environment to give it a leg up on other new players like Dell. It's clear that smart phones are becoming better and better at replacing full-fledged computers for many tasks, and Dell and HP clearly don't want to be forgotten when everyone is debating Andoid or iPhone with the same vigor once saved for OS X vs. Windows. We say: Bring it on. [From: Business Wire, Via: Engadget]

Tags: cell phone, CellPhone, hp, palm, pre, smart phone, smart phones, SmartPhone, SmartPhones, top

HuffPost AOL Social News Most Popular