In VentureBeat cites a well-placed source as saying that while HP is quite keen to get rid of Palm and the webOS business, Amazon is closest to finalizing a deal among a handful of contenders. The VentureBeat story also notes that the former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, who continues to work at HP, sits on the Amazon board. With customisations from webOS, the Android powered Kindle Fire could become a really unique tablet in the market.
It certainly makes sense for Amazon to buy Palm and webOS, as this would give the company the option of moving away from Android in future versions of the new Kindle Fire tablet. In 2010, HP bought Palm for $1.2 billion, but it was forced to stop selling webOS devices due to poor response from consumers. But the company might be eager to sell Palm at a much lower price.
Both HP and Amazon have declined to comment on the story.
Apparently, a large number of suitors have lined up to purchase what's left of Palm, but Amazon is the one closest to actually finalizing a deal. However, it is not known if the company will be buying the hardware business, the webOS, or both. It seems more likely that Amazon could buy both hardware and the webOS, as this would give the company a decisive toehold in the fast growing mobile space.
Amazon needs a tablet OS of its own to make the future versions of its Kindle Fire stand out in the market from other Android based tablets. As it stands now, Amazon has customized "Gingerbread" on the Kindle Fire to the point that it's nearly unrecognisable. But if Amazon purchases whatever is left of Palm, including the hardware and webOS, the online retailer will be in an excellent position to introduce Amazon smartphones.
However, it is also a fact that the tablet and smartphone is highly competitive, so there is no guarantee that Amazon will be able to carve a good niche for itself even if it manages to bag Palm. After all, HP could do very little with its webOS powered TouchPad, which ultimately had to be sold at a fire sale of just $99. There could also be an issue with apps. One of the reasons for which the TouchPad failed was that it had lot fewer apps.
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