This post is a response the Engadget post "Who should buy Palm? http://bit.ly/acOYcZ

Status:

Palm tried something new and that was WebOS. It is a failure or a success close to a success dpending on the user (Palm fans or Apple fanboys). WebOS was innovative compared to their previous Palm platform and surpassed some of the functionality offered on the iPhone (and others...) at the time. It seems as if Palm has remained in standstill since the Pre announcement in January 2009. Sure there was the Pixi and then the ‘Plus’ versions, but that is not enough. How come it took so long to release the SDK when apps are apparently nothing more than web apps taking advantage of built in features? The answer of course is –because they are a small company.

Mistakes:

Partnering with any of the following will kill Palm’s culture and leave them in a game where they would compete directly with Google and Microsoft for OS market space. They are simply too small. As far as being bought by the following:

HTC: They already build and sell devices running Android and Windows Phone Series 6 or 7). These are partnerships that currently bring in a lot of money for them. HTC buying Palm to run its own OS on its devices would alienate its partners.  They have already done that by dancing along a fine line between Android and Windows. They make their money selling phones, so the more POPULAR platforms they build handsets for the more revenue. Simple.

RIM: As mentioned in the post, this is a pipedream. Palm would not add value to RIMs creative teams. From my understanding RIM does not lack creativity at all, but are tied just like Microsoft to a large number of corporate users which can’t have new UIs sprung on them just because the nerd consumer (Engadget readers) wants the shiny things. They will continue innovating at their own pace stringing the user along until they have their comparable feature sets. It’s smart business.

Lenovo: Both companies are small enough that this deal is the only one that would make sense. They know where their market lies (China). Buying Palm would purely be for branding purposes. Name carries a little more credibility in the mobile market than a Lenovo mobile device in North America.

A for the rest of the ‘pie in the sky’ companies -forgetaboutit. You can rule out the big dogs (Google, Microsoft, Apple) as they have things going for them they would rather focus on their users and growing their own platforms. Dell and Motorola are onthe Android train as it’s the cheapest route to market share. Nokia can’t figure out what OS (Symbian, Maemo) to run with, so adding one to the mix will demolish the company. Sony is clearly invested in its own platform and I am certain we will see integration between the PSP and their mobile devices. Nintendo has a HUGE gaming market share with the DS. For all we know they’d make a phone with a stylus. As we know is you see a stylus “they blew it” (Steve Jobs).

Suggestion:

Palm has only one choice at success and that is to join the Open Handset Alliance. The Android train has already left, but they can still get on at the next stop. HTC is already skinning the OS and Dell adding additional functionality. Palm can very well develop some of its innovative features into it and be a part of a rapidly growing market share. Palm be smart and don’t just settle for a paycheck at the end of the day!

V. Filip Mares