HP has its hands full In taking on Palm

It's all about the apps, as we've heard repeatedly, and HP now finds itself at the head of a challenged WebOS ecosystem. Good luck. For all of its power as head of the market-leading Windows platforms, Microsoft has had fits in building third-party developer support for its own mobile platforms. Can HP do any better?

That's not clear, but what is clear is that HP will now find itself having to spend a lot of time and resources in managing that WebOS ecosystem and keeping a developer community happy and profitable. Without strong third-party ISV support, HP will have an uphill fight against Research In Motion, Apple, Google and even Microsoft;

Remember a few years ago when Carly Fiorina was ripped to shreds by critics who said her acquisition of Compaq would be a distraction for HP and that the deal was folly? Mark Hurd has overseen acquisitions of EDS, 3Com and now Palm, and the latter could pose the biggest distraction for HP yet. Internal battles loom over technical integration, cultural integration and strategic integration.

Will HP's printing and imaging unit, for example, spend more resources supporting WebOS than, say, iPhone or BlackBerry - both of which have greater market power? When it comes to touch-screen navigation, will HP stick with WebOS even though its work with Microsoft Surface has been cutting-edge and has led to superior results? Let the internal battles begin.

Having Palm's brand, technology and intellectual property under its roof has almost unlimited upside for HP, given how quickly the mobility space is growing. But it's also got significant downside, too, if things don't go as planned.