Hewlett Packard announced today it's buying struggling mobile phone maker Palm for approximately $1.2 billion, or $5.70 per share in common stock. The transaction has been approved by both the HP and Palm boards of directors and the regulatory process is expected to be completed by the close of HP's third quarter, which ends July 31. “Palm’s innovative operating system provides an ideal platform to expand HP’s mobility strategy and create a unique HP experience spanning multiple mobile connected devices,â€� said Todd Bradley, executive vice president, Personal Systems Group at HP, in a statement announcing the deal. …

The NBA is about to launch its summer grass roots effort, “NBA Nationâ€� aimed at getting fans involved in the game and winning new fans. The tour, with legendary dunker Darryl Dawkins as League ambassador signing autographs and making appearances in host cities, will head a roster of major markets this year, including Phoenix and Cleveland. The tour is in its fourth year. The NBA’s director of events and attractions Karen Barberan tells Marketing Daily that the markets chosen for grass roots events like NBA Nation vary from year to year. "Routing the NBA Nation tour year after year …

As one of five publishers forming Next Issue Media -- which is designed to help launch e-publishing initiatives -- Meredith said it's investing $1.25 million to $1.5 million per quarter. While building equity, it posted a loss in January-March, while a bigger one is expected in the April-June period. Of course, the venture is still in a start-up stage, so that's expected. Interestingly, Meredith's top magazine executive Jack Griffin said iPads and mobile devices will bring some “cannibalizationâ€� of readership. But that will come at a slower rate at Meredith, with its portfolio of titles such as "Ladies …

Audi, whose vehicles are featured in "Iron Man 2" is launching a marketing program around the Marvel Entertainment film that backs the movie's national run with a social media competition, “The Tony Stark Innovation Challengeâ€� and advertising. Besides running a month-long late night TV and national cable campaign, and an online presence on Fandango.com and Movies.com. The automaker also ran an Iron Man-themed TV spot in cinemas in the month leading up to the release. Audi is also sponsoring the re-launch of Marvel.com that will include a digital comic book featuring the R8 Spyder convertible. In the film, …

Looks like Apple is getting into the search business after all, sort of. The company has acquired startup Siri, which makes a free personal assistant app for the iPhone that helps people find local information like where to get a taxi, find a romantic restaurant or see what's playing at a nearby movie theater. The Siri acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Federal Trade Commission and subsequently tweeted out by blogger Robert Scoble. Read more here at MobileBeat.

The National Basketball Association would probably concede that, when it comes to cultivating a global fan base for hoops those Wii paddles and advertising go only so far if. The League relies on a decidedly low-tech approach with its global grass roots program that it says reaches some 13 million people. In domestic markets this summer, the NBA is hitting the road for the fourth time with its “NBA Nationâ€� truck tour to get consumers riled up about hoops in major markets. The tour, backed by T-Mobile USA, multi-year exclusive auto partner Kia Motors and Sprite, starts in …

Nissan North America, Inc. has tapped David Reuter to be director, corporate communications, succeeding Fred Standish, who retired as of April 1 after 18 years with the company. Reuter, whose appointment is effective May 10, will be responsible for all corporate communications activities including manufacturing communications, philanthropic efforts and crisis and strategic communications. Most recently, he led communications for the Americas arm of Bentley Motors, Inc., leading all product, corporate and internal communications. Previously, he held various communications assignments at Ford Motor Company.--Karl Greenberg

Atari has partnered with a series of companies to help promote its Backyard Sports: Sandlot Sluggers videogame title. Among the partners: Franklin Sports, whose products and logo will appear within the game; GT Beverages, which will featured the game's logo on its Sportastic Sports Drink and the Baseball Youth Road Trip Fanfest, where it will be the exclusive game on the interactive traveling tour on the East and West coasts.--Aaron Baar

Google just brought its “similar page resultsâ€� onto the front page of users’ search results. According to ReadWriteWeb, the move represents a “continued effort to custom tailor search results and suggest that what your [sic] searching for might actually be something else.â€� The feature, which will now be included directly at the bottom of users’ first search results page, is similar to other improvements made by Google recently, such as localizing its search suggestions list, adding search suggestions to Google Maps and suggesting a suicide hotline number for select search phrases. “While we've certainly taken some issue with Google’s …

IAC’s Match.com is demanding that newer rival PlentyOfFish -- which is now the top dating site globally -- stop making “a very long list of claimsâ€� about its service, paidContent reports. Among other contentions, PlentyOfFish is telling the world that: “20,000 people sign up per day; Our members will go on over 18 million dates with other users this year; If you come from a midsized city, there is a good chance there are at least 3,000 people online right now in your city.â€� In response, Match.com General Counsel Marshall Dye wrote in a letter to PlentyOfFish founder Markus …