|
31st October - Ed Colligan, president and chief
executive officer of Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq: PALM), and Micheál
Martin TD, Ireland’s minister for Enterprise, Trade and
Employment, today announced that Palm, a leader in mobile
computing and a leading provider of smartphones, has opened
a Research and Development Centre at Swords, Co. Dublin, with
the support of IDA Ireland (Industrial Development Agency).
The centre will develop custom software applications for Palm(R)
Treo(TM) smartphones for the mobile operators in Europe, Middle
East and Africa (EMEA) region.
Minister Martin, speaking at the official opening of the
new centre, welcomed the investment. “The impact of attracting
an R&D investment to Ireland from a company such as Palm,
a high-profile brand leader with a reputation for innovation
in wireless and communications, underlines this country’s
ability to successfully attract high-end R&D projects,”
he said. “Palm represents an important addition to the
emerging wireless sector in this country, a key target area
for IDA Ireland. It also is an ideal fit with IDA’s strategy
of adding higher-value knowledge-intensive activities and
strategic mandates to existing operations here.”
A smartphone is a single device for wireless voice and data
communication. Palm Treo smartphones are known for excellent
phone functionality plus email, web browsing, messaging and
organization capabilities.(1) Due to the differences in global
wireless-communications systems, Palm believes mobile solutions
are best delivered with targeted R&D activities and close
collaboration with European mobile operators.
The new European Engineering Centre is responsible for the
following:
• choosing and developing core, leading-edge technologies,
such as 3G/UMTS, to help Palm accelerate the delivery of next-generation
smartphones to European mobile operators and their customers;
• supporting the mobile operators in their certification
processes and helping field-qualification teams;
• implementing radio technology and mobile operator-specific
services and applications; and
• focusing on quality assurance across the complex European
networks and infrastructures.
“We are delighted to open this centre in Europe, a significant
step up for our R&D function. This move reflects our intention
to accelerate the delivery of next-generation smartphones
to European mobile operators and their customers,” Colligan
said. “After careful consideration of alternatives, we
were convinced by the IDA and our own analysis that the specific
R&D skills crucial to the success of this centre are readily
available in Ireland.”
The centre is located at Airside Business Park in Swords,
alongside Palm’s existing European Operations and Supply
Chain Group, which has been based in Ireland since 1999.
Back to
News Reports
|
