SAN FRANCISCO, U.S: HP struck a $1.2 billion deal on Wednesday to buy smartphone maker Palm Inc at a 23 percent premium, allowing HP to expand into the smartphone market.

The world's largest computer maker is attracted to Palm's Linux-based webOS operating system.

Following are the main features of that system:

Information Integration

The underlying principle of webOS is the concept of 'information everywhere' using its Palm Synergy feature to gather data from multiple locations, from PCs to Internet-based e-mail accounts, social networking sites and corporate servers.

The address book is linked so contacts that contain information from multiple sources (such as Google and Facebook) are presented in a single listing. This capability also extends to calendar and messaging functions.

The messaging function enables users to track conversations in a single view and reply using SMS, MMS, e-mail or instant messaging, regardless of the format of the original message.

Technology - Multi-touch, Multi-tasking

With support for multi-touch and multiple input mechanisms it is one of the closest rivals to Apple Inc's iPhone in terms of hardware flexibility and user interface.

Differing from the iPhone, webOS has highly capable multi-tasking environment -- such as Nokia's N900 model -- enabling the user to multi-task with several open programs.

Innovative user interface incorporates gestures to execute basic tasks -- such as throwing an application off the screen to close and a backward swipe along the gestures panel to move back through an application.

Web Development Tools

Application development is based entirely on Web standards, making it a relatively easy platform for third-party developers to create software for. This was a necessity given the challenge inherent in attracting developers to a platform with a relatively small volume potential