Pre and Pixi smartphones to go to HP

Another challenge seems to come up for Microsoft with the news this week that Hewlett-Packard intends to acquire Palm for US$1.2 billion - a decision for Palm's operating system WebOS as the basis for new generation consumer smartphones and against Microsoft’s Windows.

The deal is expected to provide a lifeline to struggling Palm - their share price went down over 53% this year - and gives HP the chance to concentrate on the smartphone consumer market owning the end product.

According to the New York Times, Palm has 452 patents and another 406 applications on file. Research firm MDB Capital was reported to value Palm’s portfolio of patents at approximately US$1.4 billion; they believe the value of Palm’s IP alone is worth between US$8 and US$9 per share.

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