HP Handsets
Just keep reminding yourself that Compaq was an odd deal too. Today Hewlett Packard palmed Palm for whopping $1.2B, or about 1/10th of HP’s petty cash. This was newsworthy for many reasons including the fact that Palm’s struggling handset line will now join HP’s struggling handset line (bet you forgot that HP makes cell phones — so did the rest of the market). In a world where RIM owns the corporate market, Apple owns the consumer market, Microsoft hasn’t helped HP’s market, and Google/Android are changing the rules of the market, this marriage seems slightly more absurd than half of Hollywood hook-ups. The deal is not without upside. First, the market for mobile is not yet saturated. Especially on the low end, there is plenty of green field. As unlocked handsets become more prevalent and popular, HP can use its retail savvy to shove cell phones into public ears. I … Continue reading →