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Hewlett-Packard to buy Palm for $1.2 billion

The last two years have not been easy for anyone who is associated with Palm, once considered a leader in handheld devices, thanks to Apple’s iPhone which currently holds the lion’s share of the handheld devices market and Research in Motion’s Blackberry.

To make matters worse, despite the well-reviewed webOS released last year, Google Inc.’s Android software has yet again eclipsed its chances of getting back up on its feet as flagging product sales have only added to the woes of the company known for its pioneering efforts in the area of Smartphones.

With the only option of selling out, it was confirmed that HP and Palm has reached a formal agreement (and signed off by both boards) for the former to acquire the latter at an amount of $ 1.2 billion including debt, which is the current value of Palm based on its latest filings.

Although, this works as a ‘shot in the arm’ for Palm, this gives Hewlett-Packard a chance to make its entry into the smart phones market. Experts say that even with its inexhaustible funding and global reach (unlike Palm’s US-only distribution capability), HP will still not be able to turn things around when it comes to the vice-like grip that both Apple and Research in Motion have on the mobile market but it will definitely cause ripples amongst the likes of Motorola, HTC and most significantly, Nokia.
What remains to be seen is how HP will use the acclaimed webOS not only for its smart phones but also for the HP Slate that intends to give Apple a run for their money.

Google, IBM & Apple – Top 3 brands for 2010

According to a report by Milward Brown Optimor, which ascertains the top 100 brands annually, Google, IBM and Apple took the gold, silver and bronze in that order amongst non-tech players like Coca-Cola, McDonalds and Marlboro. Incidentally, Microsoft was placed fourth right behind Apple.

Also known as the ‘BrandZ Top 100 Report’, its fifth release for the year 2010 has seen the rise and fall of many companies in its rankings, thanks to the extended impact of the recession that has required companies to tighten their belts, so to speak.

In examining market data and consumer opinion, the study showed that the aforementioned top four companies all grew by approximately by six percent since 2009, based on continued spending by both companies and individual customers.

Brand loyalty to a particular company is decided by factors of sustainability, social responsibility and trust, and all the top companies spent more to drive brand loyalty as opposed to several other who cut spending due to the aftereffects of the recession. Another big factor that determined a customer’s loyalty to a product was the ability to personalize products/ services for every customer. And this is true of the top brands such as Apple iPhone and with Google offering its users the ability to create personalized home pages.
While Google has remained at the top for the past four years, IBM climbed up two spots and Apple climbed up three (with a consecutive increase of 30% and 32% increase in brand value from 2009), ahead of Microsoft and Coca-Cola which fell down two spots from their previous year’s rankings.

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