HP’s buying Palm (source: HP). Opinion’s currently divided on whether this is a good thing or not, but most in the ‘anti’ camp seem to think the danger is in HP cutting ties with Microsoft in the mobile space and angering the Redmond giant. Frankly, this is the best thing HP can do—to compete against the iPhone and Android devices, HP needs a solution of its own that it can control. HP continuing to rely on broken promises and delays from Microsoft is not a good way forward for the business. (HP should also concentrate utterly on webOS—if it becomes an ‘option’ among a large range of HP Windows Phone devices, the lack of focus will doom HP/Palm in the long run.)

Of course, it also helps that Palm’s webOS is all kinds of awesome, and with the clout of HP behind it, there’s every chance the platform will spin around from heading towards also-ran alley and start to make up ground on iPhone OS and Android. As an added nugget of trivia, it’s fun to note that HP now has the potential to take an Apple-like path in the mobile space, 24 years after turning down the Apple I, which ultimately led to the formation of Apple in the first place.