As one of the bigger players in the smart phone developing world, Palm Inc. made a name for itself with products such as the Pre and Pixi line of phones, as well as their WebOS software which operates the devices. News recently broke that the company intends to auction itself off to the highest bidder and is already in talks with Qatalyst Partners and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to locate a bidder that would be able to purchase the company and take it to the next level. In the past few months, rumors have been circulating through the smart phone world that Palm might be facing a hostile take over and as a result, shareholders were jittery, causing quite a dips and rises in stock prices as investors began to reconsider their investments. Options market discourse also played a role in the stock fluctuations, which ended in a jump for shares on news that the company has investors working with it to perhaps facilitate a buy from either an outside company or perhaps another market competitor that may intend to simply swallow the firm whole.

One of the big players looking into purchasing Palm happens to be HTC, the makers of a new line of super phones, one of which is called the Desire. HTC has consistently attempted to forge a forward thinking brand image for itself so the potential Palm acquisition is being seen as a step in this general direction. While Palm has neither confirmed nor officially denied the news, it remains to be seen what sort of merger or buyout may occur.