Palm will end up costing HP way more than the purchase price (which was probably worth it for patents and debt writeoffs) and take their eye off the ball while Google and MS invest heavily in their platforms... and Apple continues to print money, much to the disgust of the little band of geeks on all the blogs...
I agree, it too early to hate/slate (get it?) but any MBA (who are mostly knuckleheads) will tell you the odds are against this deal like most others of its ilk. It may be a day for imaginations to run wild and think of the possible upside but tomorrow and every day after that is reality which is more likely to prove that Palm/HP will have cultural problems, spend ages integrating roadmaps, lose key staff, find the market moving underneath them, HP will run out of patience slightly too soon, etc.
It's funny that certain niche message boards for certain fans tend to have the same quick to the punch attitude about things. Reading the Appleinsider comments here I see we have a bunch of MBA's and Strategy consultants who already know this is doomed before a single share has been bought.
HP is a $120 billion dollar company. Palm has a ton of IP and engineering talent. This is a very, very smart move for HP. They are paying straight cash.
Let's not hate before even a single device is even realized to the public. I sense some fear among those die-hard iPhone OS folks... An open tablet from HP with webOS with TRUE multi-tasking...? Wow.
Nothing will come of it.
HP is no more capable of making this work than Palm was. Palm was barely able to put together a touch based OS and HP is even less so (that's why they bought Palm!) Worse, neither company understands user experience in the least.
Palm will end up costing HP way more than the purchase price (which was probably worth it for patents and debt writeoffs) and take their eye off the ball while Google and MS invest heavily in their platforms... and Apple continues to print money, much to the disgust of the little band of geeks on all the blogs...
I don't know what to think of the dell phones yet lol. I like them, but I prefer a keyboard that slid out from the side instead of the bottom.
Did you see the WP7 office demo? It's definitely a step up
Ps. Yes, I do remember coveting the razr...another example of owning a market so to speak and not continuing to innovate. Again, Apple has owned the MP3 market for years and look at the new and improved iPod Models that come out every year-amazing!
Yes! My first MP3 player was a Panasonic, I only bought it 'cause it was dirt cheap. And my experience with it was horrible(I was also a Windows user at this time). I ended up returning it and getting another worthless MP3 player - only to return it that very same day.
Finally, I decided to get Apple's iPod classic. I was hesitant mainly because it was $300 - I kept thinking it's pretty stupid to pay that kind of money for a device that only plays music. I bought it and immediately fell in love with it. I hadn't owned any Apple products prior, so I wasn't aware of the impact software could make.
I was so impressed with the software and the overall user experience that I traded in my HP for an iMac. Wow! This was in '06, and I haven't looked back. Since, I've purchased another iMac, a Macbook Air, a Macbook, a 17" Macbook Pro, each generation of iPhones, an AppleTV, and more recently, two iPads.
I'm completely satisfied, and I'd like to thank Panasonic. If they cared about innovation and user satisfaction the way Apple does, I'd still be using a PC.
Over on Precentral.net, they are already crowing about how Palm can now copy the iPhone with impunity due to patents and cash. They are also drooling over the WebOS, iPad knock-off. Go check them out and see what the Palm community has devolved into.
C'mon give them their fantasy... it must be nice to crow about something for a change...
Ah well. Guess HP wants to get into the phone market in a big way. I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do with Palm.
The HTC version of this would have been problematic in different ways... HTC make great hardware and have invested in an Android UI tweak but it hardly gives them the skills to manage a full OS platform. It assumes a merger of near equals which is even harder to make work.
HTC does very well with Android (and did with WinMob) and has no need for WebOS. Maybe they would have bought a patent shield (but probably not) but working with GOOG and MS is perfect for them. They may have their patent shield now from MS for much less. Palm would have been a millstone around their necks. Most desire for this merger came from Palm fans bemoaning the crappy Pre hardware and thinking that HTC could save them.
The future is mobile computing (smart phones & tablets).
I think they are most interested in acquiring WEBos as the first step in 1. distancing themselves from MS and 2. creating an 'eco-system' a la Apple.
It may take years and to be quite honest won't work, but at least it's better than just 'slapping' together something like MS or Dell would do. In other words taking a 'longterm' approach as opposed to selling short term sh*t!
But I agree HP is not the innovator Apple is...but then again you don't have to be if you can buy a company like Palm and infuse it with capital.
Brilliant or not (probably not) there is no way HP can "distance" themselves from MS. That is insane. Whether WinPh7 is a success or not, HP will not ignore it. They are a HW maker that use other peoples' OSs and that will not change because they had a minor flutter on an also-ran. HP are smarter than that. MS already have a better ecosystem (through Zune/XBL) without having a released product. Does HP really want to get into the same moneypit strategies as MS, I doubt it.
Agreed...but there are two basic business philosophies...1. be like Apple and innovate or 2. be like Walmart, Coca-Cola, Dell, McDonald's, Budweiser, GM, MS and sell 'crap' products and hope you sell a lot!
That is a very narrow definition of innovation. Apple's have all been very public (AppleII, Mac OS, DTP, All-in-One's, iPod, iTunes, Apple Stores, iPhone, AppStore) but those other companies are all successful for a reason, and not for the superficial description you state.
Coke - innovation in marketing (they invented modern Santa Clause!), distribution, manufacturing.
Walmart - supply chain, marketing (roll-backs), China sourcing
McD's - supply chain (Golden West), franchising, real-estate management, global menu replication/discipline
Dell - BTO, online sales
Bud - not sure - they got bought by Belgians...
Innovation is happening everywhere (nice and nasty forms) and generally drives success if you do it right. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.
I'm a Mac user, and perhaps I'm in the minority, but I care nothing about flash. In fact, click2flash was a godsend. The idea of an HP slate running WebOS sounds fantastic as opposed to running Windows.
To be honest, that's why I never owned a netbook - because they came pre-installed with Windows.
I have to agree with you. I am an Apple fan through and through. But WebOS is a very good OS. It might work really well on the HP Slate.
But I'm getting my iPad on Friday!!! SO no slate for me... But I do like the idea.
The HP Slate sounds more tempting with WebOS, in my opinion.
Quote:
Originally Posted by solipsism
Yes it does! That is the first thing I thought of. Might be the first really good competitor to the iPad.
Exactly!
I can see Apple, Google, and HPalm competing for the mind (and wallet) share for the tablet marketplace... as that marketplace evolves to outnumber (not replace) computers as we know them today.
I think HPalm could be up to the task... Google would need to get into the hardware business!
That leave these as potential major tablet players:
Apple-- Hardware, OS, Apps and ecosystem advantages (they are already doing it!).
The future is mobile computing (smart phones & tablets).
People keep saying this, but "desktop" computing is not going anywhere soon. It is a bit naive to think that any mobile device will be able to serious computing for quite awhile.
As an example, here I am on my MBP, typing on the internet/working on a manuscript, have music playing, converting a 4 GB fMRI raw file to nifti format, and analyzing a subject's data with FSL.
I defy anyone to remotely attempt anything like that on a current mobile device, now, or in the 5 years.
Comments
Agreed! Never work for a family business and never work for a corporation!
Does that just leave yourself (and don't employ your kids/parents/cousins)
Does that just leave yourself (and don't employ your kids/parents/cousins)
Kind of. I meant don't work for a business that is owned by a different family than yours. But, it's probably a good idea not to do either one!
I think HP, Dell, Sony and the rest of the PC manufacturers have been hurt immeasurably by MS's missteps and clumsy implementation of their OS's.
This is HP attempting to get more into consumer mobile computing without having to carry a dog like MS's clunky buggy OS's.
BTW: Dell really missed the boat on this one!
Dell has committed hard to Android and WinPh7 - still vapor but a sexy looking roadmap:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/22/d...ore-a-roundup/
Palm will end up costing HP way more than the purchase price (which was probably worth it for patents and debt writeoffs) and take their eye off the ball while Google and MS invest heavily in their platforms... and Apple continues to print money, much to the disgust of the little band of geeks on all the blogs...
Ah well. Guess HP wants to get into the phone market in a big way. I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do with Palm.
I agree, it too early to hate/slate (get it?) but any MBA (who are mostly knuckleheads) will tell you the odds are against this deal like most others of its ilk. It may be a day for imaginations to run wild and think of the possible upside but tomorrow and every day after that is reality which is more likely to prove that Palm/HP will have cultural problems, spend ages integrating roadmaps, lose key staff, find the market moving underneath them, HP will run out of patience slightly too soon, etc.
Imagination is cool but reality is real...
That gives pause for thought.
It's funny that certain niche message boards for certain fans tend to have the same quick to the punch attitude about things. Reading the Appleinsider comments here I see we have a bunch of MBA's and Strategy consultants who already know this is doomed before a single share has been bought.
HP is a $120 billion dollar company. Palm has a ton of IP and engineering talent. This is a very, very smart move for HP. They are paying straight cash.
Let's not hate before even a single device is even realized to the public. I sense some fear among those die-hard iPhone OS folks... An open tablet from HP with webOS with TRUE multi-tasking...? Wow.
Nothing will come of it.
HP is no more capable of making this work than Palm was. Palm was barely able to put together a touch based OS and HP is even less so (that's why they bought Palm!) Worse, neither company understands user experience in the least.
I'd say its a billion dollars wasted.
Dell has committed hard to Android and WinPh7 - still vapor but a sexy looking roadmap:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/04/22/d...ore-a-roundup/
Palm will end up costing HP way more than the purchase price (which was probably worth it for patents and debt writeoffs) and take their eye off the ball while Google and MS invest heavily in their platforms... and Apple continues to print money, much to the disgust of the little band of geeks on all the blogs...
I don't know what to think of the dell phones yet lol. I like them, but I prefer a keyboard that slid out from the side instead of the bottom.
Did you see the WP7 office demo? It's definitely a step up
Ps. Yes, I do remember coveting the razr...another example of owning a market so to speak and not continuing to innovate. Again, Apple has owned the MP3 market for years and look at the new and improved iPod Models that come out every year-amazing!
Yes! My first MP3 player was a Panasonic, I only bought it 'cause it was dirt cheap. And my experience with it was horrible(I was also a Windows user at this time). I ended up returning it and getting another worthless MP3 player - only to return it that very same day.
Finally, I decided to get Apple's iPod classic. I was hesitant mainly because it was $300 - I kept thinking it's pretty stupid to pay that kind of money for a device that only plays music. I bought it and immediately fell in love with it. I hadn't owned any Apple products prior, so I wasn't aware of the impact software could make.
I was so impressed with the software and the overall user experience that I traded in my HP for an iMac. Wow! This was in '06, and I haven't looked back. Since, I've purchased another iMac, a Macbook Air, a Macbook, a 17" Macbook Pro, each generation of iPhones, an AppleTV, and more recently, two iPads.
I'm completely satisfied, and I'd like to thank Panasonic. If they cared about innovation and user satisfaction the way Apple does, I'd still be using a PC.
Over on Precentral.net, they are already crowing about how Palm can now copy the iPhone with impunity due to patents and cash. They are also drooling over the WebOS, iPad knock-off. Go check them out and see what the Palm community has devolved into.
C'mon give them their fantasy... it must be nice to crow about something for a change...
iconic? Are you serious? This never ending chase for sensationalism is destroying the meaning of perfectly good words. Iconic my foot!
(smirk!)
i was hoping htc would buy them
Ah well. Guess HP wants to get into the phone market in a big way. I'm looking forward to seeing what they'll do with Palm.
The HTC version of this would have been problematic in different ways... HTC make great hardware and have invested in an Android UI tweak but it hardly gives them the skills to manage a full OS platform. It assumes a merger of near equals which is even harder to make work.
HTC does very well with Android (and did with WinMob) and has no need for WebOS. Maybe they would have bought a patent shield (but probably not) but working with GOOG and MS is perfect for them. They may have their patent shield now from MS for much less. Palm would have been a millstone around their necks. Most desire for this merger came from Palm fans bemoaning the crappy Pre hardware and thinking that HTC could save them.
I think this is a brilliant move on HP's part.
The future is mobile computing (smart phones & tablets).
I think they are most interested in acquiring WEBos as the first step in 1. distancing themselves from MS and 2. creating an 'eco-system' a la Apple.
It may take years and to be quite honest won't work, but at least it's better than just 'slapping' together something like MS or Dell would do. In other words taking a 'longterm' approach as opposed to selling short term sh*t!
But I agree HP is not the innovator Apple is...but then again you don't have to be if you can buy a company like Palm and infuse it with capital.
Brilliant or not (probably not) there is no way HP can "distance" themselves from MS. That is insane. Whether WinPh7 is a success or not, HP will not ignore it. They are a HW maker that use other peoples' OSs and that will not change because they had a minor flutter on an also-ran. HP are smarter than that. MS already have a better ecosystem (through Zune/XBL) without having a released product. Does HP really want to get into the same moneypit strategies as MS, I doubt it.
Agreed...but there are two basic business philosophies...1. be like Apple and innovate or 2. be like Walmart, Coca-Cola, Dell, McDonald's, Budweiser, GM, MS and sell 'crap' products and hope you sell a lot!
That is a very narrow definition of innovation. Apple's have all been very public (AppleII, Mac OS, DTP, All-in-One's, iPod, iTunes, Apple Stores, iPhone, AppStore) but those other companies are all successful for a reason, and not for the superficial description you state.
Coke - innovation in marketing (they invented modern Santa Clause!), distribution, manufacturing.
Walmart - supply chain, marketing (roll-backs), China sourcing
McD's - supply chain (Golden West), franchising, real-estate management, global menu replication/discipline
Dell - BTO, online sales
Bud - not sure - they got bought by Belgians...
Innovation is happening everywhere (nice and nasty forms) and generally drives success if you do it right. Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it isn't there.
Reminds me of The HP Compaq merger. My parents investment portfolio held rather large positions on both stocks-- and they both went down!
.
I'm a Mac user, and perhaps I'm in the minority, but I care nothing about flash. In fact, click2flash was a godsend. The idea of an HP slate running WebOS sounds fantastic as opposed to running Windows.
To be honest, that's why I never owned a netbook - because they came pre-installed with Windows.
I have to agree with you. I am an Apple fan through and through. But WebOS is a very good OS. It might work really well on the HP Slate.
But I'm getting my iPad on Friday!!! SO no slate for me... But I do like the idea.
The HP Slate sounds more tempting with WebOS, in my opinion.
Yes it does! That is the first thing I thought of. Might be the first really good competitor to the iPad.
Exactly!
I can see Apple, Google, and HPalm competing for the mind (and wallet) share for the tablet marketplace... as that marketplace evolves to outnumber (not replace) computers as we know them today.
I think HPalm could be up to the task... Google would need to get into the hardware business!
That leave these as potential major tablet players:
Apple-- Hardware, OS, Apps and ecosystem advantages (they are already doing it!).
Google-- Software, OS, Apps and limited ecosystem (must acquire tablet mfgr)
HPalm-- Hardware, + Palm OS, Apps and limited ecosystem (must catalyze HP & Palm)
MSFT & others-- too little, too unfocused, too late!
I see Apple as having a tremendous marketing advantage as well as a proven track record (quality, support, style, usability, etc).
.
Actually, Elevation Partners took a haircut when the stock slid from $17 to under $5.
HP's offer means that they'll only lose 25% of their initial investment instead of 35%.
a haircut is better than a scalping!
.
a haircut is better than a scalping!
.
This would make a great sig... Thanks for the chuckle.
Don´t forget Flash support too!
In my opinion Mac users are a bit upset, they were looking for a open Mac tablet with decent storage so they can tweak on it and innovate.
Mac users are laughing their asses off about HP pissing away a billion on this purchase.
The future is mobile computing (smart phones & tablets).
People keep saying this, but "desktop" computing is not going anywhere soon. It is a bit naive to think that any mobile device will be able to serious computing for quite awhile.
As an example, here I am on my MBP, typing on the internet/working on a manuscript, have music playing, converting a 4 GB fMRI raw file to nifti format, and analyzing a subject's data with FSL.
I defy anyone to remotely attempt anything like that on a current mobile device, now, or in the 5 years.