Some of my readers like to tease that “Palm is dead”. Now I may not be an expert, but I think I’ll let the #10 Fortune 500 company do the talking (and if you haven’t realized which company I am referring to, it’s Hewlett-Packard). Would HP, or any other company for that matter, really spend $1.2 billion on a dying or defunct operating system and concept? No, I don’t think so.
So while I am anxious for new Palm hardware and devices, I think the fact that HP and Palm are taking their time is a sign of just how serious they are taking development. This next phase in Palm technology is a great new opportunity to reintroduce webOS and they only have one chance to do it. I am optimistic that the time and effort spent by Palm and HP now will translate into some great products that we can really get excited about.
Adding credence to my optimism are the recent posts by and interviews with Rahul Sood, HP’s CTO of Gaming Business and founder of Voodoo PC, which was acquired by HP in 2006. Rahul definitely knows a thing or two about development, production, distribution, acquisitions and basically all areas relevant to Palm’s future. What’s been Rahul’s repeated message to the masses? Other than obvious excitement and prospect over Palm and webOS, it’s been a message of scale. Scale (and presumably increased or increasing scale) in opportunity for developers, in production and in the “ecosystem” of devices.
What I am taking from Rahul’s message is that hopefully the best of Palm and webOS is yet to come. The rumor-mill is in overdrive right now regarding new Palm smartphones, tablets and other devices on the horizon and there is likely a reason for it. Is Palm a sleeping giant? Maybe, maybe not, but it is evident that when something does happen, it will certainly be worth stopping for and taking notice.
Some parting words from Rahul - “You’ll start to hear more from me.” Well, he’s got my attention and I am excited to see what unfolds over the next few months.
Sources: The Next Bench, webOSroundup
