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Assets and Engineering Talent To Augment Palm OS Business
Capability
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and MENLO
PARK, Calif., Nov. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Palm, Inc., the leading
provider of operating systems for use in handheld computers
and the leading provider of handhelds, and Be Incorporated today
announced the completion of Palm's acquisition of substantially
all of the intellectual property and other technology assets
of Be Incorporated for $11 million in Palm stock. In conjunction
with the completion of the acquisition, Palm also has hired
several key members of Be's engineering team. The deal was approved
by Be stockholders yesterday.
The acquisition -- related
to Palm's strategy to separate the Palm OS platform business
from the Solutions Group -- will augment the platform's business
capability in user-centric communications, Internet and multimedia
technologies. Market-research firm IDC estimates that the Palm
OS will be used in 59.5 percent of the personal companions shipped
worldwide by the end of 2001.
About Palm, Inc.
Palm, Inc. is a pioneer in
the field of mobile and wireless Internet solutions and a leading
provider of handheld computers, according to IDC (December 2000).
Based on the Palm OS platform, Palm's handheld solutions allow
people to carry and access their most critical information wherever
they go. Palm(TM) handhelds address the needs of individuals,
enterprises and educational institutions through thousands of
application solutions.
The Palm OS platform is also
the foundation for products from Palm's licensees and strategic
partners, such as Franklin Covey, Handspring, IBM, Kyocera,
Sony, Symbol Technologies, and HandEra (formerly TRG). The Palm
Economy is a growing global community of industry-leading licensees,
world-class OEM customers, and approximately 170,000 innovative
developers and solution providers that have registered to develop
solutions based on the Palm OS platform. Palm went public on
March 2, 2000. Its stock is traded on the Nasdaq national market
under the symbol PALM. More information is available at http://www.palm.com.
About Be Incorporated
Founded in 1990, Be Incorporated
creates software solutions that enable rich media and Web experiences
on personal computers and Internet appliances. Be's headquarters
are in Menlo Park, California. It is publicly traded on the
Nasdaq National Market under the symbol BEOS. Be can be found
on the Web at http://www.be.com.
NOTE: Palm OS is a registered
trademark and Palm is a trademark of Palm, Inc. Other brands
may be trademarks of their respective owners.
Safe-harbor Statement
This press release contains
forward-looking statements about the effect of the acquisition
of Be assets on Palm's platform business' future capabilities.
These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including
Palm's ability to successfully integrate Be's employees and
technologies. For a discussion of additional risks related to
the acquisition, please see the section titled ''Risk Factors''
contained in amendment No. 2 to Palm's registration statement
on Form S-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission
on October 5, 2001.
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