Palm, Cell Phone | featured news

Hewlett-Packard has agreed to buy struggling smart-phone maker Palm for nearly $1 billion in cash. HP said Palm's webOS operating system will help it compete in the smart-phone market.

Palm's taken big strides, but it still isn't enough to upset the ''Apple'' cart in the handset market.

Palm on Thursday announced upgraded versions of its Pre and Pixi smartphones that add video recording and the capability to create 3G mobile hotspots for laptops and other mobile devices.

Palm Pre users rejoice: a new version of webOS, 1.2.0, is now available. It’s about 79 megabytes heavy, and it brings several new important features, one of them being support for paid app purchases from the App Catalog.

Advertising Age has taken a deep dive into Palm's latest string of unsettling, polarizing ads -- you know, the ones with the girl -- in an attempt to explain the company's intention with the creepy spots.

Prepare yourself for the onslaught of tip calculators and flashlights, friends, because the Mojo SDK for Pre's WebOS is out and ready to rock. You can download it right here and start coding immediately, if not sooner.

Our major beef thus far has been the Pre's fairly sparse app store and this promises to open things up considerably.

Sprint and Palm enjoyed long weekend lines for the Pre smart phone. Analysts estimated 50,000 to 100,000 units sold.

The Palm Pre will go on sale on 6 June in the US and will only be available on the Sprint network. The much-anticipated handset will cost $199.99 (£129), after a rebate, and buyers must take out a two-year contract when signing up.

Palm's comeback attempt rests squarely on the notion that it has found a better way to manage your complicated digital life.

Facing a potential legal showdown with Apple over its new multi-touch Pre handset, Palm this week vowed to fight back tooth and nail.