[Ben]

http://www.knowyourcell.com/news/414647/otr_global_palm_halts_smartphone_production.html

Picked up the above report off of Twitter that suggests Palm has halted production of the Pre etc... What on Earth could be going on?

[The Mullet of G]

Man the 6 people who were going to buy them will be gutted. :D

I suspect it could be related to Palms ever decreasing share value, and failure to gain market share. I'm surprised they hung on this long.

[Hands0n]

Wasn't the Pre their last shot before Chapter 11?

[The Mullet of G]

Quoted from Engadget:

Oh boy. Research firm OTR Global is making some waves today with a report claiming that Palm ordered all Pre and Pixi manufacturing to be halted, but apparently they didn't look at a calendar -- or, you know, call Palm. We just talked to Palm and here's the real deal: Pre and Pixi orders were halted for the Chinese New Year on the 14th, and production will go back online at the end of the month. That's the whole story -- Palm also told us that production for Verizon was ramped up early in the year to cover the downtime, so there shouldn't be any effect on availability. We'll be getting an official statement soon, we'll update as soon as we get it.

Update: Here's the official word from Derick Mains, Palm's director of corporate communications:
Palm regularly adjusts its product manufacturing levels to manage inventory. In anticipation of the Verizon Wireless launch and Chinese New Year, we increased production levels prior to February, and anticipate ramping production back up after the Chinese New Year ends.

So it seems that Palm haven't quite sunk yet, although the water must be lapping around their feet by now. :)

[Ben]

Can't be a good thing that this story is so easy to believe :) Poor, poor Palm!

[The Mullet of G]

To be honest I'm not sure if I'm overly convinced by Palm's explanation, I still think there is probably more to this than Palm are letting on.

[Ben]

While not at deaths door, Palm's new smartphone lineup hasn't performed as they had hoped: http://www.mobilebusinessbriefing.com/article/palm-cuts-revenue-view-on-weak-sales

WebOS is hardly in the hive mind's consciousness. It's all Android, iPhone, Blackberry, and, shudder, Windows Phone... ;) But here's hoping they don't give up; surely they can find a market niche capable of sustaining them.

[Hands0n]

I am not at all convinced that AT&T alone can assure Palm of a bright future. Nor do I think that it, if true, is a particularly healthy way to survive.

My own view is that Palm will have to face the inevitable Chapter 11 scenario.