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Palm: In Apple's hand?

updated 07:55 pm EDT, Fri June 1, 2001

Speculation is abound that Palm is now ripe for an acquisition, including a c|net article that places Apple, IBM, and Sony at the top of the list of possible suitors. Upon Steve Jobs' return to Apple three years ago, he tried to buy Palm from 3Com but was unsuccessful. In an interview published last month in Fortune magazine, Jobs lavished praise on Palm and elegantly neglected to answer when asked if he was still interested in the handheld computer maker.

by MacNN Staff

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06/01, 08:54pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Palm vs Handspring

Even though I own a Handspring Visor, and love it, I'd prefer Apple buy Palm for two reasons. One: Apple would gain control over Palm OS (or is that not in the deal?). If they bought HS, Apple would still have to license it from whomever bought Palm. And who knows how the new owner would support the Mac? Reason two: Handspring already does a pretty good job of supporting the Mac. Go fix the one that *is* broke! :-)

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06/01, 09:28pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
I agree Palm not HS

Handspring has a geat product at a great price. They have good designers. All HS needs is a stable leader in Palm.

Palm is having the difficulty, and Apple's design strength and OS expertise would make a better match. It is also another "in" to the corporate market.

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06/01, 09:49pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Yep

I'd hate to see Apple buy Palm and then do something stupid like kill licensing of the OS. Ideally, they should buy it and kill off the hardware side and license out the OS to HS and others. I don't think Apple likes this business model very much though.

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06/01, 09:50pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
agree

Apple has the people...Palm has the OS.

Not too long ago I stated Apple would be best to aquire Handspring to nab the original creators of the Palm, who founded and now head Handspring...but in retrospect Apple has plenty of damn good people and should be able to make this stuff work without those two.

Having the Palm OS in Apple would be a huge ego-boost if you think about..."we may only have 5% of the desktop market, but we have 70% of the handheld market!" and since Palm has been LOOSING marketshare lately to the PocketPC crowds Apple would need to agressively upgrade Palms offerings, in hardware and software, to both maintain their current position as a high-end organizer type status but also to offer models with the power and functionality of these PocketPC players to more directly compete.

Why? People only see the "overall" market trend, so it doesnt matter if one persons needs are totally different than others, if they see people leaning left, they'll follow more likely than not. To maintain that competitive edge you have to be able to say "they got nothin we don't have already". Similar to Gateways current actions, saying they will undercut all major competitors...the CEO said they will only do so by a dollar, why? to "wipe price from the table" (not a direct quote, but something like that) in consumers minds so they can focus on the features. Okay, one is talking about features, the other about price, but does that make sense anyway?

- Jeff

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06/01, 10:16pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
OS X

If that's what it takes to bring hotsyncing to OS X, then do it! Now!

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06/01, 10:54pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Expensive Hotsync

If Apple followed the Steve business model, they old buy out the licensees. This would be REAL expensive. Also I think Handsprings approach to expansion is a better one than the Secure Digital approach Palm seems to be taking. The most interesting of the licensed products is the ColorSony with Memory stick and MP3 playback. They have tinkered with the OS and the buttons on the bottom are art of the OS ik the Newton was. Maybe Apple should buy Palm and sell the Palm products under that brand so as not to loose market recognition and co-brand an Apple labeled Sony device as he ultimate miniature hub of our digital universe. With a totally kickass OSX desktop application that ties into Mail, iTunes, and a PhotoApplication

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06/01, 11:10pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Cmon....

PDA's are going the way of the Dinosaur...with the low-end iBook eating up the high-end (Only $500 more and WAY more powerful) and cell phones with added capabilities cannibalizing the low-end...these things will be history before we know it.

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06/01, 11:12pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
I Really Hope Not

Apple has quite enough on their plate, thank you. It seems to me that between MacOS X, Apple Retail Stores, and a slump in PC sales that just won't go away, it just wouldn't be smart to purchase Palm. Remember, much of Apple's trouble a few years ago could be blamed on an always-branching product line. The key to their recent success has been simplicity. I don't know if Palm is the next thing Apple has up it's sleeve (or at least wants to), but I can see where they might. Palm devices have been very prominant in every "digital hub" slide Apple has presented. Even so, I sincerely hope such a purchase is in Jobs' future plans. Keep it simple. Keep on making a select few great products (plus build to order options, of course) and hammer MacOS X into the world-class operating system that it has the potential to be. That's what I hope Apple does with their time in the coming months--not throw Palm into the picture with a messy and expensive buy-out.

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06/01, 11:44pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Buy Palm & team w/ MR

Apple could buy Palm and team-up with Motorola, with take advantage of its experience in celular telephone communications. Moreover, Apple should incorporate celular telephone communications into its PowerBooks and iBooks to access the net while on the road.

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06/01, 11:48pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple Buying Palm is Dumb

And too expensive. I like Palm and own a V myself but I wouldn't feel comfortable with Apple purchasing Palm the company for more than $500mil. Make that $250mil.

I think it would cost Apple less than $500mil to develop their own PDA.

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06/02, 12:22am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Bad idea

Apple + Palm = losses

Buy RealNetworks. Buy Macromedia, keep Flash and sell the rest off piecemeal. Multimedia kings.

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06/02, 12:34am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Some sense after all

After reading the first half of the posts, I was getting rather concerned. Thankfully it seems that some people do have their heads screwed on straight and can see that it would be a bad idea for Apple to get into this game right now.

I also agree that the handheld is one the way out. It's just not worth the price on its own. Merge them with a cell and you have a worthwhile product. Convergence, in limited amounts, can be a good thing.

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06/02, 01:12am | report spam | close Reply | delete
FCP, Apple, Macromedia

Apple bought FCP technology from Macromedia a few years back, and look at what's become of it.

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06/02, 01:27am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Stop making sense

As the writer of that first post, let me qualify it by adding at the top: If Apple were going to buy either one, then...

I don't think Apple needs to buy a PDA company right now, but do I worry that an Apple-hostile company might soon own Palm OS.

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06/02, 02:41am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Bad Idea

I agree completely. RealNetworks and MacroMedia are great companies and are a better fit with Apple's strengths in the design and multimedia markets.

But MacroMedia has been doing great with Mac support (IMO) and RealNetworks has also been taking very good care of us Mac users (I did have some problems with RealPlayer Basic but since I've paid for the full version it works FLAWLESSLY - bravo REAL!). Further, Apple and RealNetworks have an arrangement in place already to tie Quicktime functionality/standards with RealPlayer and vice-versa. The fruits of this arrangement are only starting to ripen.

However, both of these targets have marketcaps well over a $1billion so I don't think Apple CAN buy them at that price and turn a profit on such an investment within a year or even three.

The more I think about it, the more I like RealNetworks/Apple. The AOL/MSFT talks breaking down on account of RealPlayer vs. Micro$loth MediaPlayer really makes AOL seem like one of the good guys. AOL's preference is all about controlling content dissemination and licensing vs. relying on MSFT and its predatory monopoly. If Apple could acquire RealNetworks AND still maintain an exclusive - or strongly preferential - arrangement with AOL/Time Warner I'd be psyched to see Apple in merger talks with RealPlayer - $1.7billion RNWK marketcap/cost to Apple notwithstanding.

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06/02, 02:50am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Re: Stop making sense

The part about an Apple-unfriendly company acquiring Palm is a real concern.

However, neither IBM or Sony would really be threats. IBM/Motorola and Apple have a lucrative relationship with regards to chip manufacture, and Sony and Apple share interests in exploiting their co-created Firewire standard.

The big fear is if a troll like DELL acquired PALM. That would be bad - but it's unlikely to happen because I don't see MSFT being too happy with DELL placing so much at stake in the non-PocketPC arena.

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06/02, 02:59am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Real Networks??

Why in the world would Apple buy Real Networks???

Apple has Quicktime. Quicktime is great and getting better.

I have no idea how much Real Networks would cost, but it seems to me that it would be a lot cheaper for Apple to just put some money into promoting Quicktime better.

It is also important to note that although the statistics indicate that Quicktime does not have the Internet marketshare that Real Media has right now, Apple is making more signifigant profits on licensing Quicktime than Real has been with Real Media.

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06/02, 03:08am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple PDA

Apple has access to good colour LCD screens, cheap 802.11b, proven long battery life products, a portable 32-bit operating system and embedded, system-on-chip CPU's from IBM, Moto, ARM.

It could make a PDA in about 10 mins if it wanted to, so why bother buying Palm.

If Apple is going to do a PDA, it should look to the iPaq PocketPC - more of a mini computer than PDA. It needs something capable of MP3, wireless and 3G

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06/02, 09:26am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Digital Hub anyone???

I think that Apple should buy Palm and their huge user base. Doesn't anyone rememnber Apple's interest in promoting the Mac as a 'Digital Hub', or the center of a series of connected computing devices? If the Palm OS were fully integrated with Mac OS X and had MP3 and voice capture capabilities on a color screen, I'd gladly plunk down $500.

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06/02, 10:48am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Bad for Palm

Apple buying Palm would hurt the Palm brand.

One of biggest problems for Palm is that supporters of PocketPCs can argue that they are increasingly more tightly integrated into the Windows platform, opening Office docs, integration with Outlook and .Net stuff. As MS integrates more and more, Palm starts to look less compelling. Don't forget, it was the tight connection with desktop software that led to Palm success - if that starts to erode, Palm willl lose one of its major selling points. It is critically important that Palm keep up its real and percieved intregration with desktop software - especially corporate - and that means Windows.

If Apple were to buy Palm, given the today's context, Mac users would be psyched but all the Palm users who have Windows would start to doubt the continued integration with Microsoft platforms and this is exactly the opposite of what you would want to do to help Palm maintain its position.

Apple would be wiser to invest in ensuring tight integration between PocketPC, Palm and Office (XP?) in OSX. That is really the point of the digital hub.

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06/02, 12:52pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple handheld

I really believe a Palm buy out would be bad for Apple. Apple needs their own handheld running a light Mac OS X. This would bring the type of integration that Pocket PC has for Wintel, which is one of the reasons why Palm is in trouble.

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06/02, 01:35pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
re: Apple Buying Palm

While it would cost Apple a lot less than $500M to develop their own PDA, that is only part of the equation. The 'hidden' costs include a huge installed user base, large variety of applications and market leadership. You can't buy that for $500M - just ask Microsoft.

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06/02, 08:43pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Mmmm...

Think of the possible upgrade of OS. A UNIX based
Palm OS with Java2 utilizing PDF. Oh what I wouldn't do for Quicktime on an Apple stylized Palm. Put the Apple in your Palm! Steve, its time for Palm to Carbonize.

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06/02, 09:01pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
RE:I Really Hope Not

It would be the ideal time
1) Apple must break from our circle and bite into Microsoft (I used MS from 94-98 and am never going back).
2) The Market is down; This is a good time to "kick them while they're down" and stamp the apple brand back into the mainstream consumer eye-- Newton upside down... what goes down, must come up. What better way then to stand tall now (or fall through the cracks later)
3) So far (except for the cube) Steve Jobs has pushed the apple boundaries into the spotlight... clear the dance floor as he's busting a move, let the man dance.
4) Steve Jobs can always borrow money from Dean Kamen once 'It' (aka 'Ginger') has cities built around new product (scooter, HDTV, sterling engine... whatever)
5) XP gold has more bugs then OS X beta (another pie in the face for Bill... the guy tries, but is building a steel skyrise on a wooden foundation... maybe he should bundle OS X for free as part of the bundle, then pass go, then collect $200)

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06/02, 09:45pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple buying Palm

This would not be a bright idea! Some one else here posted a note about the cell phone becoming the new personal assistant, and I agree with that! I just got a new cell that has a contact manager, web browsing, voicemail, etc., all for the whopping price of $69 for the phone, with a two year contract! This will replace my wired line, for less money! I've also been carrying a somewhat clunky Sharp organizer for over 4 years, and I can envision getting rid of that. I had been thinking of buying a Palm or Handspring device, but, for what info I used my Sharp for, the cell phone should suffice. Apple should stay away from Palm, unless they're willing to pour a lot of R&D into turning it into something else, which would be risky.

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06/03, 12:12am | report spam | close Reply | delete
Buy Palm, but sell the

Hardware. I think it's a great idea, even in the bad economic climate. It just has to done right!

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06/03, 07:06am | report spam | close Reply | delete
a good idea...

hey finally someone had a good idea, maybe Microsoft should build a decent theme on the open source Darwin base they can get for free. Windows XP on top of a stable OS, now that would be a coupe.

As for Apple buying Palm, they already lost mindshare in the desktop arena, why would they want to loose another battle in the handheld market?

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06/03, 01:44pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
why why why?

In europe - pdas are NOT a big hit. here, its mobile phones - we all have one (or two!) and the way things are going, they are more useful, and have very similar specifications - besides being free in many cases. In fact, PDAs are regarded by many as glorified filofaxes, and as such, a little passe and uhh...naff! :)

Me being Mr jobs, I'd hunt around for a tie in with say Nokia, or a pan european cell phone provider - theres plenty of them going cheap at the moment!

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06/03, 06:02pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Palm is wonderful

Apple and Palm is what God envisions. Their wonderful products keep me on time and help me make money. They should marry.

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06/03, 07:11pm | report spam | close Reply | delete
Apple buy Palm "Userbase

That's the dumbest f****** thing I've ever heard.

You can't buy the userbase of Palm - it's not a .com like amazon that actually has a recurring customer base for multiple vendor items. Palm customers will keep their Palms for as long as they need, buy Palm software for as long as they keep using it and finally, when they need a more powerful PDA will purchase a new PDA regardless of whether the Apple or Palm name is on the box - unless they are Palm- or Apple-partisans.

That's all there is to it.

Palm has no guaranteed acquirable customer base.

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Palm: In Apple's hand?

updated 07:55 pm EDT, Fri June 1, 2001

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