VisorCentral.com (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/index.php)
- Visor General Chat (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=31)
-- Handspring and Palm merging? (http://discussion.visorcentral.com/vcforum/showthread.php?threadid=19738)

Handspring and Palm merging?

So last week Hawkins says no merger. Today I check HAND stock and it is up 25 percent. Then I read this:

http://quote.fool.com/news/symbolne...amp;nx=&bx=

Hmmm.

mc

Can anybody get to the WSJ story that referenced on the page...?

I gotta say, given the new SONY that's leaked today, Hs & Palm might have to just to survive..

...on the other hand, maybe HS just leaked a rumor b/c they needed some extra cash to prepare for the Treo release!

..I think I can get to the wsj via the U of MN, hang on.. doesn't look likely that I'm going to find it..

...I will say I'm pretty skeptical... although had Hawkins done anything other than stonewalled it there would have been pandemonium.

Here's something from Briefing.com:

quote:

---

Handspring (HAND) 4.00: Some money managers and analysts are hoping that recent departure of Palm (PALM) CEO Carl Yankowski will pave the wave for merger talks between HAND and PALM, reports the WSJ. (HAND has a market-cap of $527 mln vs PALM's $1.9 bln, which would make PALM the buyer if any deal were to eventually occur).

---

__________________
Don't like somebody? Click "Profile" on a post and then click "Ignore "so and so's" posts". Voila!

Re: Handspring and Palm merging?

quote:

---

Originally posted by mensachicken
So last week Hawkins says no merger. Today I check HAND stock and it is up 25 percent. Then I read this:

http://quote.fool.com/news/symbolne...amp;nx=&bx=

Hmmm.

mc

---

__________________
What the Heck! It's what I want!

quote:

---

Originally posted by dietrichbohn
Can anybody get to the WSJ story that referenced on the page...?
...looks like rabid speculation...

---

__________________
***********************************
You can have my PDA when you pry it from my cold dead hand! <g>

Well, VC already has Treocentral, but it looks like Palmcentral is already taken!

__________________
Don't like somebody? Click "Profile" on a post and then click "Ignore "so and so's" posts". Voila!

I think a merger between Palm and Handspring would be a bad idea. Both companies are small, struggling startups with horrible balance sheets. A consolidation won't solve the problems faced by each respective partner. As I've said many times before: Two struggling businesses, combined together, do NOT equal one powerful financially solvent company. 97% of Palm's revenues come from hardware sales. It would be nearly impossible to integrate Handspring's products into the Palm brand without cannibalizing sales of Palm handhelds. On the flip side, if Palm kills off the Handspring brand name, they will lose confidence among the installed base of Visor owners.

A merger could even set back OS development as the reborn company struggles to orient its management, services, and research branches.

Bad idea.

__________________
My blog: Pocketfactory

what new Sony device? I haven't heard anything...

quote:

---

Originally posted by dorelse
what new Sony device? I haven't heard anything...

---

this what i read at WSJ

By PUI-WING TAM
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL


"It seems a natural: getting Palm and Handspring to sync.

So say some money managers and analysts in the wake of the recent resignation of Palm's chief executive, Carl Yankowski. They are hoping his departure might pave the way for the big maker of hand-held devices to merge, or sync, using the jargon of the hand-held devices they both make.

The history of the two companies, which both rely on the Palm operating system, is intertwined. Palm Inc. was founded in 1992 by Donna Dubinsky and Jeff Hawkins, who left the Santa Clara, Calif., company in 1998 to launch and run Handspring Inc. While both companies enjoyed explosive growth last year, the two have run into the crippling technology-sector slowdown and a sea of red ink this year as they have slugged it out in a price war. Their stocks, which track each other closely, have plunged more than 90% so far this year. Both Palm and Handspring have been restructuring and groping for ways to boost sales.

Several months ago, amid the difficult economic climate, rumors began percolating of a possible union of the two Silicon Valley companies. People familiar with the situation say there aren't any talks about a potential deal, but there is a clamor for such communication to take place, especially now that Mr. Yankowski's departure from Palm leaves the top job there vacant.

"Carl's leaving might be a catalyst to get [the combination] going," says Ian Link, portfolio manager of Franklin Technology Fund, which until earlier this month owned a stake in Palm. Mr. Link says he casually floated the merger idea with Palm executives several months ago. "If the companies are seeking to survive, they would do better together," he says.

Robert Cihra, an analyst who recently left ABN Amro, adds: "One of the best things these guys could do is get the band back together," so they can quit dueling with each other and focus their attention on their much-bigger rival, Microsoft. Mr. Cihra says "there's more talk" of a Palm and Handspring deal lately since "it makes sense to a lot of people." He has also informally brought up the prospect with officials at both companies in the past few months, he says.


A spokeswoman at Palm declines to comment, while a spokesman at Handspring, Mountain View, Calif., says there are no talks with Palm, adding "there is no [combination] happening." Both companies have unveiled turnaround plans -- Palm has hired new managers and Handspring has slashed costs, with both working on new products -- in recent months to get their businesses back on track, stay independent and boost their share prices.

The pair enjoyed whiz-bang initial public offerings in 2000, running up to highs of more than $90. In 4 p.m. Nasdaq Stock Market trading Friday, Palm rose 53 cents, or 18%, to $3.43, while Handspring gained 69 cents, or 21%, to $4.

Any potential deal faces one huge hurdle: personalities. Past conflicts haunt Handspring's top executives as well as Eric Benhamou, the chairman and interim CEO of Palm who is a former chief executive of 3Com. The tangled history dates to the mid-1990s, when Palm was sold to 3Com. There, Ms. Dubinsky and Mr. Hawkins disagreed with then-CEO Mr. Benhamou about whether to spin off Palm into a separate company. Mr. Benhamou demurred on a spinoff, so Ms. Dubinsky and Mr. Hawkins left to create Handspring. Some time after the duo's exit, Mr. Benhamou decided to spin off Palm.

To be sure, not all investment managers are rooting for a combination. Curt Rohrman, manager of USAA Science and Technology Fund, which invests in both Palm and Handspring, says the two companies should remain independent. That way, Handspring can set its own course by differentiating itself with new products such as the coming Treo, a hybrid mobile phone and hand-held computer, he says. In addition, Palm can continue to license its operating system to other hardware makers without swallowing its largest licensee, Handspring. "I doubt [a merger] is going to happen," Mr. Rohrman says.

But a merger can't be dismissed. People familiar with the situation say a Handspring acquisition was discussed at Palm last year in a "war room" scenario. The idea later was dropped.

A combination especially makes management sense now, money managers say. Palm is in the midst of splitting its hardware and software businesses into separate units. The company has hired David Nagel, AT&T's former chief technology officer, to run its software group. As a result, any new Palm CEO would primarily be in charge of hardware -- an area in which Ms. Dubinsky and Mr. Hawkins already have proved themselves as innovators, fund managers say.

"Palm needs leadership right now and the quick source to get it from is Handspring," says Jeff Van Harte, a portfolio manager at Transamerica Investment Management, who sold his Palm stock earlier this year. He says he may purchase Palm shares again if the company exhibits "clear leadership," among other things.

A union also would make economic sense, analysts say. Rather than differentiating their products in a hardware field that includes Casio Computer, Compaq Computer, Hewlett-Packard and Sony, the two have engaged in price wars, leaving each other battered. In a recent report, Charles Wolf, an analyst at Needham & Co., says a merger of the two companies could lead to "significant savings in marketing a single brand and in eliminating duplicative research and development expenditures."

What's more, a merger would allow the two companies to join forces to take on Microsoft, analysts say. Microsoft has been vigorously pushing its Pocket PC hand-held platform with a new software upgrade and a multimillion-dollar ad campaign. Indeed, Microsoft's success has helped to reduce Palm's operating-system market share to about 80%, down from 89% last year.

A merger also would be inexpensive at this juncture, says Needham's Mr. Wolf. In the most likely scenario, he says, the larger company, Palm, with its $2 billion market capitalization, would be the acquirer. Handspring's market capitalization stands at about $500 million. Mr. Wolf sees Handspring as a relatively cheap target, and notes that it has no debt on its books"

__________________
Hey baby before we start do you mind if we use my M505?
No not for that!!!!!!!!!!
Use it to reffer to PalmaSutra, silly???????

Re: The new colour Clie

For what it's worth, I don't think that the Clie 600C is *that* much to get worked over. It's just a 710C with the newer OS, more DRAM, and a slimmer form factor. There's nothing really major here, and I don't think that Sony will price this in the same area in which most Palms and Visors sell. If anything, this one will try to grab back PalmOS market share from the PPC PDAs.

I do think that Palm and Handspring need to revamp their models with some newer features, but the new Clie isn't a palpable threat to their market segments.

Re: Re: The new colour Clie

quote:

---

Originally posted by John Cholewa
If anything, this one will try to grab back PalmOS market share from the PPC PDAs.

---

__________________
My blog: Pocketfactory

Unfortunately for Palm and HS, Sony is a master at making the killer products and marketing those products. Sony never revolutionizes their products but they make products that are well engineered and have a significant "WOW" factor. I just recently bought a sony digital camera mainly because it was well engineered and had a bit of a wow factor. Never mind it ended up costing at least another $150.

In the PDA market, palm and HS will continue to struggle against the well known sony. Especially considering that sony products are much cooler and featured that palm or HS products. I think for either of these companies to be competetive they need to consolidate now and orient their products just like sony.

Take sony as a company. Everyone knows that their service and support suck beyond all belief (if you ever have had problems with a vaio you'd understand). But, who would resist the opportunity to own a sony product if they could afford it. HS and Palm need to do this. Make their products so desireable that the consumer will pay more for th fact that the product is cool and well designed.

Foo, I'm going to have to disagree with you. A merger has the potential to give each company what it desperately needs. Palm's OS division could be unbelievably secure, depending on how well they implement BeOS and PalmOS. Their hardware division lacks foresight, IMO. The only rumor I've heard about was an m700 series. Hawkins aversion to innovating the platform would be removed (or at least drastically reduced) if put into a hardware-only position.

And their individual 3rd party software licenses would compliment each other nicely (CityTime, DateBook+, fast-lookup vs. PalmReader, Docs-to-Go - free out of the box, etc.). The treo could use Palm.net services for quick info and blazer for full-blown browsing. Unfortunately, I get the impression that there is some bad blood between the two - at least from Handspring.

__________________
-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

quote:

---

Sony never revolutionizes their products but they make products that are well engineered and have a significant "WOW" factor.

---

__________________
We're all naked if you turn us inside out.
-David Byrne

I agree as well. A Palm/Handspring merger if done right without egos and management infighting would be a good thing and needed boost. I'm concerned with the eroding margins and aggressive business tactics from the likes of Microsoft. I fear the same crushing monopoly powers will be used to slowly dominate the handheld market as they have done in the past with everything from Windows to Browsers to MediaPlayers. They will fund an artificially low priced handheld operation system with their strong profit products until Palm/Handspring's R & D can no longer threaten Microsoft in the handheld market. Microsoft will allow the Palm OS to then exist as they have the non-threating Apple and Netscape just to apease the Feds. Microsoft and Walmart are very much alike when it comes to this business practice. Have you ever watched how Walmart moves into a small town? Price it low for a while supported by profits from dominated markets then when the 'mom and pops' are gone in that town, raise the prices to what the market will bear and do it all over again in the next town. Palm and Handspring better stop beating on each other and figure out how to keep the bohemoth at bay!

-Travis

Good thing

I have been talking about a merger on these boards for soem time now. It is not a matter of if Handspring and Palm will merge but when.

Rumor Was HS Would Go PocketPC

I remember reading in an business magazine (@Company??) that Jeff Hawkins was not closed to the idea of jumping on the PocketPC bandwagon if he felt the consumer marketplace was shifting that way. He seemed to be disappointed that the Palm OS lacked many multimedia features that the PocketPC devices were touting. Perhaps Palm is frightened that HS is thinking about moving to PocketPC?

But look what Sony has with the PalmOS! The new CLIE PEG-N760C has a 320X320 Color Screen that critics are claiming is better than the Ipaq, especialliy in sunlight. Plus it as an MP3 player built in and comes with some cool headphones. as well as a movie clip viewer and MemoryStick slot!

The CLIE is beating the PocketPC at its own multimedia game with the functionality of a Palm. Not to mention that the design of the CLIE rocks. I would say that Handsping's product lineup (except for the Edge) looks really outdated compared to the CLIE and the Palm lineup. Handsping & Palm need to merge and creat groundbreaking products that hae tremendous tech appeal.