Is Palm about to make a comeback via Alcatel Onetouch?

Published January 2, 2015 10:53pm

Palm, the once-mighty name associated with personal digital assistants that have now been replaced by smartphones, could be making a comeback via Alcatel Onetouch.

A report on enthusiast site WebOSNation.com said HP, which last owned the Palm brand, has sold it to Alcatel Onetouch.

It cited a website teaser that redirected to mynewpalm.com, with a looping video of the Palm logo with the text "coming soon" and "smart move" beneath.

"Smart move" is the slogan of Chinese smartphone manufacturer Alcatel Onetouch, it noted.

"The more intriguing option is that Alcatel Onetouch plans to use the Palm brand going forward, either as part of a line of phones, or as their own brand. While an Alcatel Onetouch Palm line of smartphones seems like a reasonable proposition, Alcatel Onetouch America rebranding as Palm (or perhaps even all of Alcatel Onetouch) would be a very interesting move," it said.

Citing the findings of webOS Nation Forum member and GMA News Social Media Manager Ederic Eder, the site said Palm Inc. transferred ownership of the Palm name, trademarks, and logos to Wide Progress Global Limited on Oct. 31.

"So we have HP transferring the Palm trademarks to a shelf company that just so happens to be led by the same guy who is in charge of Alcatel Onetouch America," it said.

Palm had pioneered the PDA and the smartphone, while Palm webOS paved the way for the multitouch user interface we know today.

A separate report on The Verge said this "could be the first signal that Palm may not be out of the smartphone game for much longer."

But it said it is more likely the new Palm phones would more likely run Android than WebOS.

"Palm still has strong brand recognition in the US and Europe, something which Alcatel — hasn't been able to achieve on its own," it added. — Joel Locsin/JDS, GMA News

Tags: palmos, alcatel, smartphones