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After months of speculation, smartphone maker Palm has finally found a buyer. HP has said it will buy Palm for approximately  $1.2 billion.
The move will give HP a foothold in the fast growing smartphone business, at a time when HP rival Dell has its own smartphone available on AT&T.
Palm’s chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, a former Apple executive, will remain with the company, says HP.
Over the last two years, Palm has tried to reinvent itself by introducing a new smartphone operating system called webOS and introduced new phones such as the Palm Pre and the Pixi.
But Palm has been stymied by lack of a big enough marketing budget when compared to its rivals such as Motorola and HTC. Palm has been steadily losing money and market share. And acquisition rumors have been rampant with companies such as HTC and Lenovo reportedly interested in Palm.
Now that HP has bagged Palm, it could mean a new direction for the latter. Access to HP’s distribution channel and coffers could help turn the tide for Palm.
“HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS,”  said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm in a statement.
HP and Palm are expected to close the transaction in the third quarter.
See Also:

Palm Palm Pre Plus vs. Palm Pixi Plus
Review: Palm Pre
6 Reasons Why the Palm Pre Is Special
Palm Unveils Its Long-Awaited Smartphone, the Pre

Photo: (Patrick Moorehead/Flickr)

Source: Gadget Lab