Here is the press release:

PALO ALTO, Calif. & SUNNYVALE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–HP (NYSE: HPQ – News) and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM – News) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which HP will purchase Palm, a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system, at a price of $5.70 per share of Palm common stock in cash or an enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion. The transaction has been approved by the HP and Palm boards of directors.

The combination of HP’s global scale and financial strength with Palm’s unparalleled webOS platform will enhance HP’s ability to participate more aggressively in the fast-growing, highly profitable smartphone and connected mobile device markets. Palm’s unique webOS will allow HP to take advantage of features such as true multitasking and always up-to-date information sharing across applications.

“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,” said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP. “And, Palm possesses significant IP assets and has a highly skilled team. The smartphone market is large, profitable and rapidly growing, and companies that can provide an integrated device and experience command a higher share. Advances in mobility are offering significant opportunities, and HP intends to be a leader in this market.”

“We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. 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. “We look forward to working with HP to continue to deliver industry-leading mobile experiences to our customers and business partners.”

Under the terms of the merger agreement, Palm stockholders will receive $5.70 in cash for each share of Palm common stock that they hold at the closing of the merger. The merger consideration takes into account the updated guidance and other financial information being released by Palm this afternoon. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of domestic and foreign regulatory approvals and the approval of Palm’s stockholders. The transaction is expected to close during HP’s third fiscal quarter ending July 31, 2010.

Palm’s current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/hp-buying-palm-for-12-billion-2010-4#ixzz0mQaQRyuE

 

More information as it happens!

Valve released its much advertised User Interface reboot for Steam on Monday. The interface is a lot cleaner and has a very modern feel. You can have access to your library and related information in one easy to read screen. The layout is a lot better and is much easier to access than the previous design.

They went with a light gray theme that somehow seems to suit the interface perfectly. You always wonder just how any different iterations these designs go through before a company like Valve picks one!

On the Steam application homepage you can see your friends as well as how many people are on Steam at any one point in time. I’ve yet to see that number drop below 1 million. On the home screen  you can now see almost all the information that you had to visit other menus for in the past. From online Friends, to what you have Downloading and your Achievements, Valve has made all the basic information available at your fingertips.

With even more good news, the application now uses a WebKIT browser instead of Internet Explorer. This means higher compatibility and quicker rendering of pages, plus it will be Cross Platform which is important for Valve’s future plans:

The new steam is due soon for Mac OSX and Linux operating systems.

source:Valve

Nokia has launched a new phone, the Nokia N8. The phone comes in five colours and sports an amazing 12megapixel camera!

The 12MP sensor is paired with impressive Carl Zeiss 28.mm wide angle optics and a Xenon flash. The camera also does face detection. With plans toward the end of the year for other manufacturers to sell handsets with 12MP are we nearing the end of the need for a separate point and shoot camera?

N8 is a touchscreen device with a 3.5” screen. It supports HDMI output, HD Video Recording (720p),16GB of internal storage and a microSD expansion slot so that storage is practically unlimited. It also supports Dolby Digital + direct from the N8.

Users will have access to about 8 home screens that can all contain different applications and widgets. Facebook is there of course, as well as OVI Maps which offers free lifetime navigation.

The N8 browser supports Flash and the phone supports 802.11n wifi.

The phone definitely looks like a contender!

Take a look at the phone and interface in action here:

source:Nokia

Hopefully more developers will take this approach so that gaming on other platforms will become a reality. More choice for the consumer is always a good thing.

source:phoronix

Engadget has posted images and specs on a new Dell Windows Phone 7 device. The hardware will be tied to a fast Snapdragon 1Ghz processor, and sports a 4.1 inch WVGA screen which looks gorgeous in the slick renderings. It’s a 3G phone with a 5MP camera. They also tout the fact that it has full Flash capability including playing back Flash Video. The phone is due in Quarter 4 2010, which is supposedly when Microsoft will launch Windows Phone 7.

I certainly like the form factor. A qwerty keyboard for me beats the numerous on-screen options any day. I actually think in these renderings it appears so classy and sophisticated that it looks a bit better than the iPhone!

source:engadget

Sad news for Bond fans everywhere. James Bond 23 scheduled for release in 2011/2012 has been suspended indefinitely.

MGM got into financial trouble and has so far been unable to find a buyer. As a result production on the next Bond has been halted.

This means that we may lose Daniel Craig as James Bond, he’s probably going to do other films in-between and who knows if he will be available when production resumes?

source:Latino Review

Through good (though not exceptional) hardware,exceptional design and a fantastic marketing campaign Apple has once again cornered the market with a consumer oriented device.

The iPad did not sell over 500,000 units the first week as some reported…but to date it has sold about that number. Some estimate that sales may have topped 1 million already. This is before the units go on sale Internationally (officially).

Recent previews of the HP Slate have called it lackluster next to the iPad, although it is a far more open platform.

It seems that Apple once again wins this round, and will forever be known as the forerunner of the ‘Tablet’ computer (although there have been many others before it).

I still don’t think that the iPad represents good value for its cost, but with the Apple Marketing machine in overdrive, no one seems to care about ‘value’ or ‘features’.

Apple’s stock shot past US$250.00 today. To put this in perspective, Apple can technically purchase Dell. Cash.

Regardless of objective analysis, the boys at Cupertino are brilliant!

source:techcrunch

Yet another game that has advertised Co-Op play. This feature seems to be the latest trend in gaming for 2010.

Players will be able to use a transceiver at any time to call a friend into their game. They can then faceoff against Zombies together, race through malls on skateboards and get up to all other sorts of shenanigans together.

source:joystiq

Fantastic news for gamers everywhere. Red Dead Redemption, the latest Open World game from Rockstar set in the Wild West, will feature multiple difficulty levels.

The difficulty levels relate directly to the method of control that players will have regarding the aiming of the various weapons. I am of the opinion that gamepads are horrible controllers for First Person Shooters, and am a great fan of the ‘Lock On’ style aiming in Grand Theft Auto 4 as compared to the aiming in any of the HALO titles. It seems that Rockstar is trying to meet the needs of its variety of customers by allowing a Lock-On mode in Casual difficulty, all the way up to a Free Aim mode in Expert. Normal has a sort of snap-to-target with some precise targeting mixed in.

I think it’s an excellent move that will no doubt greatly expand the reach and playability of the title. Shame this isn’t due out for the PC. The game launches on May 18th for the Xbox 360 and Sony PS3 in North America, and May 21st in Europe.