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If you're a fan of Palm's products, this is probably good news--it's a sign that the company is likely to remain independent. Which, I think, increases the chances that it'll release interesting and innovative products than if it were to be swallowed up by Nokia or Motorola, as rumor had it might happen. And it can't hurt to have a couple of high-level people with Apple experience on board...
The technology world loves to predict imminent doom for Palm, and its latest product, Foleo, debuted to a pretty stinging reception. But the company has said it'll ship a Palm OS-compatible, Linux-based phone later this year--and I know a heckuva lot of long-time Palm devotees who'd snap such a device up if it's any good at all.
It's hard to be a little guy in a field dominated by behemoths like Nokia, Motorola, and Sony Ericsson, but I hope Palm keeps punchin' for a long time to come.
(Side note: The Palm folks were at last week's D conference, as was at least one Elevation person--Roger McNamee, a partner who's also joining the Palm board. Wonder if they hammered out the deal then--or if it was already final, and they had to keep their distance from each other so nobody else would catch wise?)
