Troubled Palm could be up for sale

It has been a difficult time for the company, with its one-time predicted ‘iPhone killer’ in the Palm Pre not living up to expectations, and overtaken by devices coming out from the likes of HTC.

Various rumours flying around suggest that companies like HTC, Lenovo and Huawei have shown an interest. Devices launched to improve its fortunes like the Palm Pixi and Palm Pre have been reviewed reasonably well, but sales have been disappointing in the face of a lot of new competition.

The Palm Pre was launched with a barrage of hype, and it was expected that Palm could get back to its pioneering heyday as a smartphone maker if it was a success. But there were problems with the Pre as ‘not being as good as the iPhone’, with issues over apps, bugs and even the hardware.

The company would be a decent buy for bigger companies that want a property that could allow them to expand into the lucrative mobile market. A figure of $1 billion was quoted for buying the company.

The Telegraph quoted Frank He, analyst at BOC International Holdings as saying: “Palm still has quite a good brand in the US market and some strong technology. You can do something with it.”