Topics: Mobile

Nokia And Motorola May Fight It Out For Palm

Posted by Stephen Wellman, Mar 20, 2007 11:41 AM

According to the Dan Jones over at Unstrung, Nokia and Motorola could be ready to rumble over smartphone maker Palm.

Jones reports that sources close to the situation claim that Nokia is considering a bid of between $19 and $20 a share for Palm. Motorola, however, is rumored to be back in the ring for Palm, after earlier reports claimed that the company was no longer interested.

A Motorola buyout would block rival Nokia as well as give Motorola access to the Treo, the only smartphone to really challenge the BlackBerry in North America. The Treo would also compliment Motorola's acquisition of Symbol Technologies, giving the company a comprehensive business mobility play that reaches both the horizontal mobile office and Symbol's legacy business in the vertical markets.

Motorola's CEO, Ed Zander, has said that his company needs to get out of the low-end handset price war with Nokia and launch more smartphones and other mid-tier and upper-tier devices. Buying Palm would give Motorola a chance to do just that.

This deal might also calm down billionaire and Motorola share-holder Carl Icahn, who is trying to claim a seat on Motorola's board.

Will Motorola do it and fight Nokia for Palm? Or will Palm be acquired by some unknown player?

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