Oracle says it backed off of phone deals

Oracle CEO Larry Ellison in commentary during the ongoing trial against Google revealed that he had tried to buy RIM or Palm. An internal investigation had explored the idea, which was meant to improve competition with Apple or Google. The database developer concluded that it was a "bad idea" that didn't make financial or competitive sense.

Palm had eventually been snapped up in 2010 by HP, which eventually gave up on webOS hardware for at least the time being and focused on software. RIM has so far said it isn't up for sale, although it has been open to OS licensing and strategic investments.

The deal would have thrown Oracle into direct competition with the company it's now suing over alleged Java copyright and patent violations in Android. Oracle would have been in a unique position to other potential acquirers, as it wouldn't have had a vested interest in a competing platform. Its lack of experience with mobile hardware would have given it an uphill battle, even after bringing on existing staff. [via Reuters]

By Electronista Staff

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