[trsbbs]

Who will save what’s left of Palm from HP’s bumbling? It could be Amazon, as the online retailing giant is in serious negotiations to snap up Palm from HP, VentureBeat has learned.

A well-placed source tells us that HP is currently looking to rid itself of Palm as soon as possible, and that Amazon is the closest to finalizing the deal, among a handful of contenders.

Indeed, after yesterday’s announcement of Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet, no other company seems as fitting a home for Palm and its webOS software. It’s worth noting that former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, who now holds a vague “product innovation” role at HP’s Personal Services Group, joined Amazon’s board late last year.

When asked for comment, an HP spokesperson said the company doesn’t comment on rumors and speculation. We’re still waiting to hear back from an Amazon representative.

The Kindle Fire is powered by Android, but it’s been heavily customized by Amazon to the point where you can barely tell. By purchasing the remnants of Palm, Amazon would have free rein to redesign webOS to its own liking, and it would be able to further differentiate its Kindle devices from the slew of Android tablets in the market.

And even though HP has given up entirely on its webOS hardware business after the TouchPad tablet failed spectacularly, there’s still plenty of potential for webOS to power a successful device. Palm’s mobile software was praised for its slick multi-tasking capabilities, which could allow future Kindle Fire tablets to juggle games, movies and media with more finesse than Android.

It also appears that HP has been eyeing Amazon for some time as a potential webOS partner. In an interview with This is my next in July, Rubinstein revealed quite a bit about having Amazon use webOS in its future tablets:


So, we’d like a partner that would allow us to expand the webOS ecosystem… There’s a variety of different sets of a characteristics to qualify as a good partner. I would say Amazon would certainly make a great partner, because they have a lot of characteristics that would help them expand the webOS ecosystem. As to whether there’s been discussions or not… that’s obviously not something I’m going to comment about.

HP paid $1.2 billion for Palm in 2010, but Amazon will end up spending a fraction of that if the deal goes through. Given just how badly the TouchPad failed, HP will likely offer what’s left of Palm at a major discount, especially since Amazon woudn’t be interested in resuscitating now extinct webOS hardware.

Personally, I’ve never had much faith in HP’s ability to effectively manage Palm and webOS. Amazon, with its commitment to long-term planning and innovative consumer devices, seems like a much better fit. And in a way, it seems fitting for the company that released the first widely-available $200 tablet to snap up the company that made PDAs, the precursor to the smartphone, a phenomenon.

Graphic credit: Tom Cheredar
Amazon has Palm in its shopping cart — will it click Buy? (exclusive) | VentureBeat

[trsbbs]

Could it be that Amazon will do this? Could they be the "dark horse" in the phone and tablet race in the future?

Tim

[Arcturos]

really hoping this happens.

the combination of webOS and Amazon would be the first real competition for the ipad.
Competition would great for everyone. Android hasn't really made a dent, the playbook is non-existant in the marketplace and the kindle fire is more of a media device than a true tablet (though it's looking darn good for the price). If they didnt want to expand further into the tablet market they would continue just making android based media tablets. If it's true they are looking into Palm and webOS, they may be considering a major move.

Amazon really could be on it's way into new territory.
Amazon media, movies, books, music etc... add that to webOS native apps (which are currently better than QNX) and if they added an Android player to webOS, which obviously should happen since they have their own amazon app store, this would be huge.

Still not seeing them enter the phone market... probably just looking at tablets would by my guess.

[rollingrock1988]

honestly if they bought it and made phones and tablets with it, it would be successful and I would buy. I love webos and I love amazon so...

having a phone built with both working together is cake.

[johnenglish]

WebOS was designed with "the cloud" in mind so it makes sense for Amazon considering how they're really into the cloud.

[reeneebob]

As I sit here in the dark, quietly reading on my Touchpad (which I adore more and more every day), I really,really hope its true.

****, I'm tempted to pick up a Veer on Ebay - unlocked new in box white ones are selling for $100. I would love one to have as a backup should something happen to my iPhone.

WebOS is the best mobile OS I have used and I've used all except Symbian. I love WebOS and have since the Pre...

[bimmerny]

I hope the rumors are true, this is exactly what WebOS needs.