CNETAnalysis: Amazon is the latest company to be linked to the buyout of Palm, with the e-tailer heavily linked to purchasing the likes of WebOS from HP. Amazon has been busy of late, announcing its first tablet, the Kindle Fire , and both a cheaper and touchscreen variant of its Kindle ebook reader. Given that the Kindle Fire has come packing Android, the idea that the company would want WebOS is an interesting one. HP has said that Amazon would make an ideal partner for WebOS but Amazon has not mentioned whether it would be interested in buying Palm. In Amazon’s basket? If it was to buy Palm, and with it WebOS , it would mean the company would avoid any messy Android licensing problems in the future but it would also mean that – due to the fact it has only just announced new products – the company would have to wait at least six months to launch anything with WebOS on it. One fact that is giving this rumour some weight is that former Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, now at HP as a ‘product innovator, is part of Amazon’s board, so will have some clout as to whether Palm is acquired or not. If it were to buy Palm, it would have to dig deep into its pockets – HP paid $1.2 billion for the company is 2010, although its price to a potential buyer will be far lower than this. Related Stories HP UK boss: we never said we’re quitting PC market Week in Tech: Brilliant new tech that’s just around the corner AVG: Most cybercrime targeting ‘wetware’ weakness HP board meet to decide future of CEO HP ousts Apotheker as CEO, brings in ex-eBay chief
