Palm

Legal
January 23, 2013
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Apple Poaching Lawsuit Testimony

Steve Jobs allegedly threatened to hit Palm with a patent suit if it hired any Apple employees

By on January 23, 2013 at 9:30 AM.

Steve Jobs allegedly threatened to hit Palm with a patent suit if it hired any Apple employees

Late Apple (AAPL) CEO Steve Jobs was known for being insanely competitive, but this takes things to a whole new level. Reuters reports that documents unearthed in a civil suit against Apple, Google (GOOG) and Intel (INTC) show that Jobs once allegedly “threatened to file a patent lawsuit against Palm if that company’s chief executive didn’t agree to refrain from poaching Apple employees.” Former Palm CEO Edward Colligan, who described the feud with Jobs in a sworn statement, claims he told Jobs that such proposed collusion between the two companies was “likely illegal” and that he wasn’t intimidated by Jobs’ threats. Colligan provided his statement as part of a lawsuit filed by five tech industry employees who allege that major tech firms have engaged in a series of gentlemen’s agreements to not poach one another’s workers.

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mobile
February 3, 2012
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HP CEO says webOS will be better than ‘fragmented’ Android and ‘closed’ iOS

By on February 3, 2012 at 12:00 PM.

HP CEO says webOS will be better than ‘fragmented’ Android and ‘closed’ iOS

Though Hewlett-Packard was unable to produce webOS devices that consumers were interested in buying — at a positive margin, at least — CEO Meg Whitman still thinks the beleaguered platform has legs. After unsuccessfully trying to sell or license webOS, HP decided late last year to donate its $1.2 billion platform to the open source community. The firm still plans to launch new webOS devices in the future, however, and Meg Whitman explained HP’s position while speaking with CRN. Read on for more. More →

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Business
January 27, 2012
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Former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein leaves HP

By on January 27, 2012 at 12:21 PM.

Former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein leaves HP

Jon Rubinstein, the former CEO of Palm, has left HP. AllThingsD broke the news Friday afternoon, noting that Rubinstein had served his promised 12-24 month tenure with the company before leaving. “Jon has fulfilled his commitment and we wish him well,” HP spokeswoman Mylene Mangalindan told AllThingsD. Rubinstein led the team responsible for the original iPod and left Apple in 2006 to eventually join Palm as CEO in 2009. While at Palm, Rubinstein was responsible for, among other projects, the development of the Palm Pre and Palm’s webOS mobile operating system, both of which were transferred to HP in 2010 When it acquired Palm for $1.2 billion. HP has since open-sourced the mobile operating system after failing to gain traction with its Pre, Pixi, Veer and TouchPad products. More →

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mobile
January 2, 2012
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Former Palm execs say webOS was doomed from the beginning

By on January 2, 2012 at 2:01 PM.

Former Palm execs say webOS was doomed from the beginning

HP recently made the decision to open source webOS, the mobile operating system it acquired when it bought Palm in April, 2010. While it’s arguable that HP was responsible for the demise of webOS, several former Palm executives told The New York Times that the operating system was doomed from the start. “Palm was ahead of its time in trying to build a phone software platform using web technology, and we just weren’t able to execute such an ambitious and breakthrough design,” former senior director of software at Palm Paul Mercer said. “Perhaps it never could have been executed because the technology wasn’t there yet.” Mercer explained that webOS relied too heavily on WebKit, which meant applications weren’t able to run as smoothly as they did on an iPhone. It also didn’t help that Palm wasn’t able to get a heavy developer following. A source speaking to The New York Times also said neither Palm nor HP could find the right engineers or leadership to help the platform take off and that there weren’t enough programmers to help build the OS. HP’s CEO Meg Whitman confirmed recently that new webOS hardware is still on the way, however, so perhaps the company has started to work out some of the operating system’s initial setbacks. Probably not, though. More →

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Business
December 29, 2011
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Looking back at 2011: HP kills, revives and then open sources webOS

By on December 29, 2011 at 2:00 PM.

Looking back at 2011: HP kills, revives and then open sources webOS

There’s no question about it: HP made one of the biggest blunders of the year when it comes to how the company handled Palm and webOS. During the past 12 months, HP relieved one CEO who was hired less than a year earlier in October 2010, killed off its webOS hardware, hired another CEO, brought webOS back from the dead and then open sourced it. The company also announced that it would discontinue its Pre, Veer and TouchPad products, but then flip-flopped and said we can expect new webOS devices in the future. It’s a confusing company to say the least, so let’s start all the way at the beginning and trace the curious path HP took with webOS this year. More →

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Business
December 28, 2011
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HP reportedly tried to offload Palm assets for $1.2 billion

By on December 28, 2011 at 10:50 PM.

HP reportedly tried to offload Palm assets for $1.2 billion

Hewlett-Packard has made some wild decisions regarding Palm and webOS following the acquisition in 2010. HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion in April of last year, killed webOS hardware, and then reportedly tried to sell Palm and the dead operating system for $1.2 billion, VentureBeat said Wednesday. Among the companies approached by HP? Facebook. According to the report, HP tried to offload webOS to the social network but the company was “practically laughed out of the room” by Facebook executives. HP eventually cut its losses and announced that it would contribute webOS to the open source community. Then, earlier this month, HP stunned the industry again when it said new webOS hardware, including a possible new tablet, is in development. More →

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Business
September 30, 2011
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Amazon may acquire remnants of Palm and webOS from HP

By on September 30, 2011 at 10:15 AM.

Amazon may acquire remnants of Palm and webOS from HP

Amazon is reportedly a front runner among multiple companies currently in talks with Hewlett-Packard to purchase its struggling webOS business. VentureBeat cites an anonymous “well-placed source” in reporting the HP is looking to dump what’s left of Palm and webOS as quickly as possible, and Amazon is nearing a deal to make the acquisition. Read on for more. More →

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Business
September 20, 2011
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HP to lay off 525 Palm employees this week

By on September 20, 2011 at 8:10 AM.

HP to lay off 525 Palm employees this week

HP will lay off as many as 525 employees from its Palm division this week AllThingsD reported on Tuesday. HP killed off its webOS mobile operating system in mid-August when it also announced it would discontinue the development of webOS devices such as the TouchPad and Palm Pre family of smartphones. “As part of this decision, the webOS GBU is undergoing a reduction in workforce,” an HP spokesperson explained. “Today’s actions are part of this initiative. During this time, we stand by our commitment to our webOS customers and will work to ensure that support and service for customers are not adversely affected. HP is exploring ways to leverage webOS software.” More →

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Business
August 22, 2011
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Exclusive: HP EVP Todd Bradley looking to jump ship for CEO role elsewhere

By on August 22, 2011 at 10:21 AM.

Exclusive: HP EVP Todd Bradley looking to jump ship for CEO role elsewhere

BGR has exclusively learned that Hewlett-Packard Executive Vice President Todd Bradley is looking to leave HP. While HP reported last week that the company plans to discontinue its webOS smartphones and tablets and is interested in splitting off the PC business, we have heard that Todd Bradley has been considering a departure from HP for several months. “He’s out interviewing for every CEO job he can,” a source familiar with Bradley’s plans told us. With the drastic change in direction for HP, it’s not surprising to see that the leading internal choice for the CEO role, passed over for an outsider, is looking to leave the company. After all, it was Bradley who spearheaded the Palm acquisition and he has been very focused on turning HP into more of a consumer company, something that is now essentially out of the question. Read on for more. More →

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Featured
August 20, 2011
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No, HP, you're off the mark

By on August 20, 2011 at 9:50 AM.

No, HP, you're off the mark

Oh nooo. That was the first thought that crossed my mind as I began to read Jon Zilber’s post on HP’s company blog. Quoting Mark Twain? Oh no he didn’t. In a nutshell, Zilber’s intent was to correct the world’s press, which collectively played Taps while standing over webOS’s grave this past week. ”To paraphrase Mark Twain, reports about the demise of webOS have been off the mark,” Zilber wrote. ”HP has made these tough decisions to ensure that our efforts with webOS remain tightly focused. Far from burying webOS, our goal is to ensure the platform’s evolution as a robust operating system for an increasingly mobile and connected world.” OK, time to set the record straight. Read on for more.

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Featured
August 18, 2011
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And then there were four

By on August 18, 2011 at 5:00 PM.

And then there were four

When Hewlett-Packard announced in April of 2010 that it planned to acquire Palm for $1.2 billion, I sent the following email to a friend on the software team at Palm: “Congrats on the stay of execution, buddy. I give it 18 months.” Of course I was jabbing him and later went on to offer more sincere congratulations in subsequent emails, but as they say, many a word of truth is spoken in jest. Here we are less than 16 short months after HP’s announcement, and webOS is no more. Well, to be fair, HP hasn’t yet said exactly what it will do with webOS: “HP reported that it plans to announce that it will discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.” Read on for my thoughts. More →

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Breaking
August 18, 2011
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RIP webOS: HP kills off its mobile operating system, considers PC spin-off and Autonomy buy

By on August 18, 2011 at 3:23 PM.

RIP webOS: HP kills off its mobile operating system, considers PC spin-off and Autonomy buy

Woh. HP on Thursday announced that it is putting an abrupt end to its efforts with webOS. The company says it will “discontinue operations for webOS devices, specifically the TouchPad and webOS phones. HP will continue to explore options to optimize the value of webOS software going forward.” The news comes just ahead of the company’s third-quarter earnings report. HP also confirmed that it may spin off its PC business and that it is currently in talks with Autonomy regarding “a possible business combination,” as was reported earlier on Thursday. HP acquired the webOS platform in 2010 as part of its $1.2 billion Palm buy. Since then, the company has launched a single tablet, the TouchPad, and two smartphones, the HP Pre2 and the HP Veer. The company’s full press release follows below.

More →

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Retail
August 5, 2011
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HP TouchPad just $379.99 today from Woot

By on August 5, 2011 at 8:20 AM.

HP TouchPad just $379.99 today from Woot

While HP holds a $100-off sale of its own from Friday through Sunday, the product peddlers over at Woot managed to procure an unknown number of webOS tablets on Friday, and it’s offering them at a big discount. Woot is currently selling the 16GB HP TouchPad tablet — new, not refurbished — for $379.99. Tack on the site’s customary $5 shipping and you’re still saving $15 compared to the lowest price we’ve seen for the slate. We reviewed the HP TouchPad back in June and we found that while webOS was a pleasure to use on a large-form device, the hardware was lacking. More →

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