Less than a month after going public as an independent spin off from 3Com,
Palm Computing reported that it achieved a third-quarter profit of $15.5
million, up from $8.7 million a year ago. Sales rose to $272.3 million from
$125.9 million. Palm’s stock has continued to slide from its first-day peak of
$95. It now trades at around $55.
Meanwhile, Palm’s former parent, 3Com said it is planning to add a more
stationary Palm-like home Internet appliance device that would give consumers
access to e-mail, Web sites and traditional computer functions. The system will
use the Palm OS so it can swap information, such as addresses and schedules,
wireless with Palm devices. 3Com CEO Eric Benhamou said the devices, which would
typically sit on a kitchen counter, could be an instant hit as many of the 6
million Palm users would probably want to have such a companion device in their
home.
One key advantage of the 3Com device will be its ability to tap into
high-speed Internet connections.
Benhamou would not say when the system would be introduced, but analysts said
that it will likely be in the next three months if Benhamou decided to publicly
talk about it now.