Palm ignores elephant on table

THE FINANCIAL ANALYSTS must have been smelling blood when Palm reported financials yesterday amid a sea of rumours that the company is on the eve of being acquired.

Unfortunately for the fast-talking boys in red braces, there was no new news on a possible acquisition by Motorola, Nokia or - our personal favourite and clear strategic fit - AN Other.

Instead, Palm stated better-than-expected numbers as the company continues to morph from standalone PDA player to smartphone contender. Swatting aside the M&A speculation, Palm CFO Andy Brown told analysts that Palm is "running the business. That's what we're 100 percent focused on...end of story."

Well, maybe the end of the story for Thursday but today is another day. µ