The internet is rife with rumours that Nokia is about to bid for
mobile handset manufacturer Palm in a deal would give Nokia a PC
operating system to rival Apple's iPhone.
The Palm operating system, WebOS, has been well received, with
over 900,000 devices shipping since its release a few months
ago.
Industry experts believe if the sale goes ahead, it would help
Nokia cement its presence in the US, where Palm has a strong
following, and offer a platform on which Nokia can build its rival
to iPhone.
Quoted on the financial blogging site
SeekingAlpha, Charter Equity Research analyst Edward Snyder,
said, "The inability [for Nokia] to respond to iPhone two years
after it first appeared combined with economic upheaval has and
will continue to batter its phone business."
One commentator on the Barrons financial blog site, said, "It
would be simply to gain market share and credibility in the US
market which both are at the moment are non-existent for Nokia.
They have been banging their head into the US wall quite long time,
not gonna cut it using the Nokia brand but using Palm as the US
brand could work. It would be a big gamble but they are running out
of options how to conquer USA so maybe there is something
here!"
