Amazon could be purchasing webOS platform

The Palm-created mobile OS may be rising from the ashes with a new owner on hand.

Sources close to venturebeat.com claim that Amazon is currently in “serious negotiations to snap up Palm from HP” and, by extension, claim the webOS platform as its own.

“A well-placed source tells us that HP is currently looking to rid itself of Palm as soon as possible, and that Amazon is the closest to finalizing the deal, among a handful of contenders,” says venturebeat.

The rumor puts the possible acquisition in line with a July interview between website thisismynext and Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein, who revealed that Amazon would “certainly make a great partner” in expanding the webOS platform. This may suggest that Palm has been in talks with Amazon for quite a few months at the very least.

Samsung was previously rumored to be interested in the webOS platform, but has since shot down the claims. HP continues to maintain the Palm-developed mobile operating system to a limited degree, even after it had dropped hardware support for the failed TouchPad.

Amazon officially revealed its Kindle Fire tablet plans earlier this week with jaw-dropping prices. If Amazon ends up acquiring Palm, it would be interesting to see how the world’s largest online retailer can integrate webOS features into its own lineup of tablets and e-readers.

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