"Palm received a boost Friday when an analyst from RBC Capital upgraded its stock rating because of the allure of WebOS.

The smartphone company once dominated the U.S. smartphone market with its Treo line, but it has steadily been outpaced by Apple's iPhone 3G, and Research In Motion (NSDQ: RIMM)'s BlackBerry line. Palm introduced the WebOS-powered Pre at the Consumer Electronics Show in January to help it mount a comeback.

Mike Abramsky, an analyst with RBC Capital, upgraded Palm to an outperform rating because he said WebOS can bring the company back to a smartphone leadership position.

"Palm is developed end-to-end smartphone software and hardware, providing a superior user experience, which we believe can offer a compelling alternative to iPhone," wrote RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky in an investor's note. "Rather than a 'one product Hail Mary,' we see WebOS as a platform, spawning a family of devices addressing a broader market opportunity."

The operating system was built from the ground up with mobile Internet connectivity in mind, and it has an innovative touch-based interface. One compelling feature is called "Synergy," which aggregates information from various Web-based sources into one interface. For example, WebOS can pull data fromMicrosoft (NSDQ: MSFT) Outlook, social networks, and Web-based e-mails into a unified contact list. If a contact updates their phone number on Facebook, the changes would automatically be made to the phone over the air."

It's great to see people are beginning to realize that while Palm has a lot riding on the Pre, the Palm webOS is what is really setting Palm up to be a major player in the smartphone/mobile device arena.

Labels: iphone, palm, palm webos, pre

¶ posted by Jimmie Geddes, Editor @ 3/13/2009 02:57:00 PM