Palm details Handspring, PalmSource deal

Handheld maker Palm detailed some terms of its expected spin-off of its PalmSource software subsidiary and the acquisition of rival Handspring late last week in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company, based in Milpitas, Calif., said in the filing that Palm shareholders are entitled to receive about 0.34 shares of PalmSource for each share of Palm they own. PalmSource has applied for a listing on the Nasdaq National Market using the ticker symbol "PSRC." Handspring stockholders will get 0.09 of a share of Palm--and no shares of PalmSource--for each share of Handspring common stock they hold. The completion of the PalmSource spinoff and the acquisition of Handspring are expected to take place in the fall of 2003.

In related news, the hardware division of Palm, Palm Solutions Group, cut the price of its wireless combination cell phone and handheld device, the Tungsten W, from $549 to $419. The company also announced the availability of a Zire 71 device that targets the education market and is loaded with software designed in part to help students organize class schedules and assignments.