Big News: Palm Finds a Buyer in HP
It happened a lot faster than maybe many of us thought but Palm has found a buyer in unexpected quarters: HP. At least, I’m surprised, because who’s really thinking HP would be a Palm suitor? Speculation fell to Lenovo, HTC, Dell, and even RIM. But HP could be exactly what Palm needs.
The purchase price, in cash, is based on $5.70, which is an approximately 23% premium on the common stock share price of $4.64, listed at end of day Wed, Apr 28, 2010. Total purchase price is ~US$1.2B. Both companies boards of directors have approved the sale. Palm CEO Jon Rubenstein is expected to stay on. Elevation Partners (who have rock star Bono of U2 as an investor) is said to have taken a hit on the sale, which should close by Jul 31, 2010 — HP’s fiscal Q3 end.
The official statement from HP does not say if the Palm brand name will be retained, but it appears that at least webOS is something they want. In fact, MobileBeat suggested something that I was also speculating on: webOS for a tablet computing device. That’s definitely something I would buy, as I love webOS’ multitasking and card system. Speculation by Wired Gadget Lab is that webOS devices might gain enterprise use. While I initially thought that, would companies choose webOS over MS Windows devices, which HP currently has for their tablet computers? Regardless, HP is bound to benefit if they can leverage the 1,500+ patents owned by Palm.
If you own a Palm webOS phone, however, you might have to talk to your carrier as HP is likely to have to renegotiate plans in that regard. I’m crossing my fingers that my Mobile Hotspot option through Verizon isn’t taken away, as that’s what’s powering my Apple iPad WiFi device when I’m on the go.
T-Mobile Allowing Unlimited Mobile Broadband
T-Mobile is to trying to promote it’s super-fast HSPA+ mobile broadband network by changing the pricing on overages for their two cellular data plans. According to GigaOm, T-Mobile customers with the 200Mb/month plan will have overage fees cut in half. Those who have the 5GB/month plan will no longer pay overage charges, though download speeds will apparently slow after exceeding 5GB in a given month.
Recently, Verizon dropped the cost of the Mobile Hotspot option available for the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi phones, which allows for the tethering of up to 5 WiFi-enabled devices. The cost went from $40/month to free. The move was timed just before the debut of the Apple iPad WiFi-only edition, so it’s possible that Verizon intended to capture that market.
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Report: Motorola Rules Android, iPhone 3G/3GS Rules iPhone
AdMob, a mobile ad platform company that Google is waiting for permission to acquire, released some interesting results about Android and iPhone in their Mar 2010 mobile metrics report.
The gist of the report on the Android segment is that handset maker HTC went from dominating Android phone-based web traffic to being second, now slightly behind Motorola’s Android phones. As for web traffic from iPhone OS devices, the AdMob report shows that 3G and 3GS phones dominate collectively, though the 2nd gen iPod touch is actually used more for web browsing than then 3G.
Via MobileCrunch.
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More Proof of Video Chat for Next-Gen iPhones
Recently during a big Apple event, Steve Jobs announced details of the new iPhone OS 4.0 but left out what some bloggers feel is a big detail: the next-gen iPhone devices will have video chat. At least, more hidden details have been uncovered that suggest this will be the case.
For example, MacRumors shows a snippet of code that quite clearly includes the words “video chat” in a variety of application status messages for iPhone OS 4. Why have that in a brand new OS if it’s not going to be used. Not too long ago, TUAW found a process named iChatAgent in the OS 4 SDK that was installed onto an iPhone for testing.
Of course, to achieve video chat on an iPhone, it’ll need to have a front-facing camera. But given that there are also countless apps that rely on the existing back-facing camera, my guess is that the next-gen iPhone –which rumors suggest will be announced in June — will have two cameras. For the best video chat experience, its also going to need a higher resolution screen, which is more than possible for Apple given that several of their competitors already offer phones with more screen real estate than the iPhone’s 320×480. Now whether or not the iPad will eventually have video chat remains to be seen, though there’s already speculation that future generations of the device will have a front-facing camera.
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South Korea iPad Ban Lifted
It’s not just Israel that had a ban on Apple iPads but also South Korea, which has also now been lifted. This was the result of the Minister of Culture, Tourism and Sports being unaware of the ban and using an iPad at a news conference in early April. According to the Wall Street Journal, the minister’s news conference was to announce a $50M fund for electronic book publishing, so it’s not surprising he used the iPad “as a prop.” Apparently the news of the Korean Communications Commission’s ban had not reached minister.
The issue as with Israel was to whether the iPad met local wireless standards. The ban on iPads in South Korea has been lifted for personal use and for “companies that are using it for research and development of products.” Not sure what that leaves or why any other use would be a violation, but that’s way things stand there right now.
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Google Buys Apps Maker LabPixies
This is the type of news I don’t like to hear: that Google bought up the maker of one of my favorite iPhone apps, LabPixies. Their Lineup/ Lineup Pro app is like a variation of the old favorite Tetris, but even more addictive. Aside from the fact that Google is now spreading out into gaming, I’m wondering if Apple might decide not to allow LabPixies games in their Apps Store.
While I wish the company well, in my opinion, LabPixies made a mistake in allowing themselves to be purchased by Google, even at $25M, since this action could potentially reduce their visibility to gamers, not increase it. Zynga or any other gaming company would have been a better choice, though I’m not sure they would have any interest. Let’s hope Apple doesn’t hold it against LabPixies that Google now owns them.
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Mobile Blog Boy Genius Report Acquired
Mobile topics blog Boy Genius Report has just been purchased by Mail.com owner Jay Penske, who has previously bought other single-person run blogs. According to All Things Digital, the BGR site will change domain names from Boygeniusreport.com to bgr.com, and ad sales will be handled by Penske’s team. Congratulations to Jonathan Geller, who managed to keep his name anonymous the whole time. He’ll apparently be staying on to run BGR for Penske.
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Foursquare up for Sale?
Foursquare, the mobile location-sharing service who recently struck a partnership with the Wall Street Journal, has been rumored to be in acquisition talks lately, with Yahoo as one potential buyer. However, now CEO Dennis Crowley is saying that the company will decide within a few weeks whether or not to sell.
It’s interesting timing for such an announcement, considering that Foursquare just reached 1 million users. With a reported price tag of $100M, that’s valuing each user at $100 for their lifetime. Doesn’t seem like an awful lot, but then again, checking-in your current location — whether at a bar, restaurant, gym, library, or wherever — isn’t exactly a common practice and brings its own privacy concerns. It’s hard to say at this point whether it ever will be without some changes to the way check-in apps work.
Via The Where Business.
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Motorola Choosing Skyhook Over Google Android’s Location Services
Motorola might produce Google Android-based phones but when it comes to mobile location services, they’re choosing a system by Skyhook Wireless over Google’s native solution. Why? Apparently Skyhook’s system uses triangulation based on known WiFi hotspots instead of GPS or cell towers. According to Silicon Alley Insider, Skyhook’s location services are faster than GPS and more accurate than cell tower positioning. The system also works indoors.
Motorola is the first Android phone maker taking this step, and the change will likekly be transparent to application developers. Phones will still have access to location services via cell tower and GPS. Apple Inc. already uses Skyhook in its mobile devices and Mac OS.
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Foursquare Partners With The Wall Street Journal
Foursquare, the popular mobile location check-in app, has just partnered with The Wall Street Journal. In the deal, WSJ will provide tips and three new check-in badges: Urban Adventurer, Banker, Lunch Box. Each badge will have its own challenge for New York, ranging from checking in to different boroughs, the financial district, or reviewed restaurants.
Other Foursquare partners include Bravo Media, SPIN magazine, Metro News and New York Times. The latter partnership related to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The Foursquare API has been used to build a number of location-based services (LBS) applications. Currently, Foursquare has apps for iPhone, BlackBerry, Android, Palm and other devices.
Via Mashable.
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