Today Hewlett Packard has announced that they have acquired Palm at a price of approximately $1.2 billion and will be completed by the end of July 31, 2010. This acquisition has been approved by both HP and Palm boards of directors. Palm is a provider of smartphones powered by the Palm webOS mobile operating system.

This acquiring will enhance the ability of HP to participate easily in the fast-growing smartphone and mobile device market. Palm WebOS platform will give HP an advantage over its competitors using Windows Phone 7 as it would have a larger, more advanced app store, and multi-touch support.

According to Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm:

“We’re thrilled by HP’s vote of confidence in Palm’s technological leadership, which delivered Palm webOS and iconic products such as the Palm Pre. HP’s longstanding culture of innovation, scale and global operating resources make it the perfect partner to rapidly accelerate the growth of webOS”

It is also announced that the Palm’s current chairman and CEO, Jon Rubinstein, is expected to remain with the company.

Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group, HP, said:

“Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices”