And I am glad because it would have been too big of a risk. HTC is a growing company that will either outpace its competitors or falter on the backbone of Android and Windows Phone 7. A proprietary Palm WebOS smartphone made by HTC would have required too much of an investment.

According to Reuters, HTC is backing off attempts to buy Palm. I concur with analyst Lu Chialin’s assessment that, “”It’s a good thing that HTC is dropping it because Palm has been losing money for a while now, and when you look at the two companies, they share such a similar profile.”

If you covet an HTC WebOS smartphone, I ask you one question: are the Pixi and Pre Plus so mediocre that HTC could drastically improve upon them for around the same price? My answer is no, not even with a special Sense UI and hardware enhancements because Palm’s best devices are already good.

HTC is prospering with Android (and Windows Phone 7 soon), so why muck about with a winning formula? Maybe one day HTC should explore the idea of its own operating system, but judging by the eager demands for its newest Android smartphones - Evo 4G, Droid Incredible, Legend, and Desire - the Taiwanese corporation’s stock will proliferate upwards this year.