Amazon in talks with HP to buy Palm

As a long-suffering webOS fan (Pre- through to Pre3 &#38; Touchpad), all I have to say to this news is, yay! WebOS is a fantastic system that does not deserve to linger and die due to HP's lack of leadership and vision.<p>Jeff Bezzos, on the other hand, is a true visionary in my opinion and I would be happy to see my webOS HP Profile become an Amazon profile sometime soon.<p>My only doubt though: will they make phones?

What would Amazon do with WebOS when they have already invested so much in Android? Switching would require them to abandon the app store they built. The Silk browser seems at odds with how WebOS works. All their Android UI customizations would have to be rewritten.

We saw the launch of the Kindle Fire and have seen Amazon's hand with the custom build of Android that looks/feels nothing like Android... anyone have any guesses why they would want WebOS?<p>Amazon already has the Android store, all the Android integration done for the Fire and the Java/Android expertise in house... where does WebOS fit in?

I first misread that as "Amazon in talks to buy HP" and what's funny is that it didn't shock me. On the other hand if they only got Palm that would be great for IP.

The only way I can see this making sense is if Amazon could buy the supply chain relationships that HP must have built for their tablets. Probably HP have options/exclusivity deals on display and chip production for the coming years.

To me the detail that doesn't ring true is that HP would sell Palm at a substantial loss. Last I heard, people thought HP could at least recoup the purchase price (or more) based on the "value" of Palm's patents alone. I suppose HP could be selling Palm with only patent licenses (instead of the patents themselves), but that seems like a strange thing to do on both sides.<p>If HP were being clever, I could see them leaking their discussions with Amazon right now (when Amazon is on everyone's mind) as a way to motivate the "real" buyer (presumably Google or Apple). But I don't give HP credit for being that clever.

The patents alone would be worth it to Amazon... who likely have no really interesting mobile hardware or software patents of their own.<p>Interesting note about Ruby's being on the Amazon board too, didn't notice that earlier.

Even if this is true and it does happen, I would think Palm as a brand is dead. Even if the Fire 2 ends up having webOS, Amazon would never market it that way. Just as how Android is behind the scenes on the current Fire, they would do the same with webOS.

With Fire, Amazon essentially has an independent OS. The only reason to by Palm would be that Google will not protect you as an Android maker and you need your own patent portfolio to defend yourself.

This sounds like a large talent acquisition.

Could this have anything to do with the licensing fees that are becoming a reality with the Android ecosystem? It might be an incentive to bring things in house in the future (both hardware and software).

I would like that to happen. I was never a fan of Palm products, but WebOS seems like a nice alternative OS for mobiles and tablets.<p>I'm sure Amazon would know how to handle it better than HP.

Please do, then sell Be off to someone that will do something with it. Please?

I hope that whomever HP sells Palm off to will bring back the brand.

Probably for talent and patents acquisition.

It's the patents.

great news