The Short Names

Palm’s shares are trading higher today based on iffy reports that Nokia (NYSE: NOK) may be interested in buying the company, reports Reuters. During late afternoon trading, Palm’s stock was up 90 cents, or about 8 percent, to trade at $12.37.

The stock is also likely up due to the fact that Palm (NSDQ: PALM) is two days away from launching the Pixi, its second phone based on the new webOS operating system. Frederic Ruffy, option strategist at WhatsTrading.com, told Reuters: “Palm shares jumped and its call volume surged to nine times their normal level as more than 80,000 call contracts traded by midday on renewed takeover speculation.” In the past, Palm has been rumored to be a buy-out by Dell and other companies. All Things D’s John Paczkowski calls the speculation that Nokia will buy Palm silly, and asks “does the company really need another software platform in addition to Symbian, Maemo and Qt? C’mon.)

So far, Palm’s webOS has only been able to gain 0.2 percent of market, according to Gartner and Ashok Kumar, an analyst at Northeast Securities, says he’s hearing that there’s been a “substantial decline” in recent Pre sales. As Paczkowski points out, it’s debatable whether another OS would help Nokia regain some of its smartphone share, which fell to an all-time low of 39 percent last quarter. But Palm could sure use Nokia’s deep pockets and massive distribution to gain traction.

Qualcomm’s FLO TV Personal Television, which provides a 3.5 inch screen for viewing some of your favorite programming while on the go, is now available in stores—however, the monthly service plans are no where to be found.

Currently, the device costs $250, including six months of free service, which the company explains represents $90 in savings. But what happens after the introductory period is not obvious, even after visiting Amazon.com (NSDQ: AMZN) and the FLO TV website. On Amazon, the fine print stipulates that after the six months, “your credit card will automatically be charged the then-current monthly subscription rate.”

It was only after calling customer support that we were able to get the pricing. According to a representative, you will be charged $14.99 starting in month seven. (A spokesperson also added later that that pricing could change based on new promotions.) At $14.99, it’s comparable to what Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) and AT&T (NYSE: T) have been charging, and is now more expensive than AT&T, which recently dropped the price to $10 a month. It’s also more expensive than FLO’s original quote of $9 a month for a three-year contract, which the representative said is no longer being offered.

The total cost of ownership for the first year is $340, which is fairly pricey, but it’s the lack transparency that will probably be the bigger problem in gaining consumer adoption.

Related

• FLO TV Goes Direct To Consumer; Service Costs $9 A Month, Device Costs $250

The world’s third-largest computer company will start selling its first mobile phone next month through China Mobile, the country’s biggest wireless carrier. The phone, called the Dell Mini 3, runs Google’s Android and has no keyboard and a touch screen. It will also not have wi-fi to comply with government regulations.

Dell also said it will be available in Brazil later this year, but did not mention when it would launch a phone in the U.S. with AT&T (NYSE: T). In China, the Mini 3 will be part of China Mobile’s forthcoming OPhone line, which will compete against the iPhone being sold exclusively by China Unicom. Dell’s relationship with China Mobile first kicked off through selling subsidized netbooks with cellular data plans. Michael Tatelman, VP of sales and marketing for Dell’s global consumer business, told AP that Dell wants carriers to have some control over the phone, which is why it choose the flexible Android platform. As Michael Dell said previously, Tatelman confirmed the company still hasn’t ruled out making phones running Microsoft’s Windows Mobile.

London-based Muzicall, which offers ringback tone services to carriers such as Orange, Vodafone (NYSE: VOD) and T-Mobile, said it has raised $13.4 million (9 million euros). Participating investors include: BlueRun Ventures, Thule Orkos Capital, Veddis Ventures and GP Bullhound, reports Mobile Entertainment.

The money will be used to expand in Europe, Asia and the U.S., according to CEO Patrick Allainguillaume. Muzicall said there’s still room for growth in Europe, where around two percent of European mobile users have a ringback tone, whereas in parts of Asia that number jumps to 40 to 50 percent.

Deutsche Telekom (NYSE: DT) is considering acquiring Sprint (NYSE: S), the third-largest U.S. carrier in a bid to fix T-Mobile USA, its ailing U.S. wireless business. Sources told the UK’s Telegraph that Deutsche Telekom may submit a bid within the next few weeks.

The company has apparently hired an investment bank to consider the offer, which closely follows the decision to merge with its struggling T-Mobile UK business with Orange to create Britain’s biggest mobile phone firm. DT’s two ailing wireless units have been a top priority of CEO René Obermann, who blames them for contributing to the company’s €1.1bn first-quarter loss. Currently, Sprint is valued at about $10.6 billion (£6.3 billion), and DT has a value of £36.3 billion ($60.5 billion).

Together, T-Mobile USA and Sprint would roughly make the second-largest U.S. carrier, but would be a disjointed hodgepodge of at least three different network technologies (not to mention Sprint’s minority stake in Clearwire (NSDQ: CLWR), which has chosen WiMax as its 4G technology, rather than LTE, which DT has picked). Additionally, both are struggling to compete with AT&T (NYSE: T) and Verizon Wireless (NYSE: VZ) on the high-end and discount carriers on the low-end. The deal would also likely face scrutiny from regulators since it would be narrowing the field from four competitors to three at a time when the U.S. is investigating the telecom industry’s best practices.