Mike Abramsky and the Holy Pre

John Paczkowski — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 15:57:03 +0000

Palm hasn’t yet set its price or launch date, but it already has a winner on its hands in the Pre. That’s the word from RBC Capital analyst Mike Abramsky, who gave the device one hell of a write-up this morning. Seems Abramsky, who had previously been neutral on Palm (PALM) because of “low visibility to sustainable recovery,” now sees better things ahead for the company. “Palm (like RIM and Apple) is unique in developing end-to-end Smartphone software and hardware, providing a superior user experience, which we believe can offer a compelling alternative to iPhone,” he wrote in a research note. “Rather than a ‘one product Hail Mary’, we see webOS as a platform, spawning a family of devices addressing a broader market opportunity….We now believe webOS has raised Palm’s chances for Smartphone leadership, through: 1) competitive advantages; 2) multiple devices; 3) global distribution.”

It’s also apparently raised Palm’s profile as an acquisition target. Says Abramsky, “Given Pre’s and webOS’s competitive advantages and the rising importance of the Smartphone market, we foresee Palm’s rising attractiveness as an acquisition candidate.” The companies most likely to consider it as such: RIM (RIMM), Microsoft (MSFT), Nokia (NOK), Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and Dell (DELL).

Quite an endorsement–especially for a company that hasn’t yet launched the product capable of working the restorative magic Abramsky describes.

Palm shares are up well over two percent this morning at $8.07.

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Mike Abramsky and the Holy Pre