Palm Opens European Smartphone R&D Centre in Dublin

Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Micheál Martin TD today (Friday 28^th October 2005) announced thatPalm, a leader in mobile computing and a leading provider of smartphones, has established a Research and Development Centre at Swords, Co. Dublin, with the support of IDA Ireland.

The Centre will develop software applications for Palm^(R) Treo^(TM) smartphones for the mobile operators in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa) and will create 35 high level positions, mainly for engineers specialising in wireless-software development, for which recruitment is already underway.

Minister Martin, welcoming the investment, said “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 implement such high-end R&D projects. Palm represents an important addition to the emerging wireless sector in this country, a key target area for IDA Ireland. It is also 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 organisation capabilities. 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, which is their basis for establishing the Swords Centre to service the EMEA region.

The new 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. It will have responsibility for:

• 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;
• focusing on quality assurance across the complex European networks and infrastructures.

Ed Colligan, President and Chief Executive of Palm, Inc., said at the opening today “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. After careful consideration of a number of locations, we were convinced by IDA Ireland and our own analysis that the specific R&D skills crucial to the success of this Centre are readily available in Ireland.”