Palm potpourri: Sales estimates rise, suitors sighted and UK launch predicted

The Palm Pre continues to attract attention from analysts who speculate how many devices Palm has sold, as well as what the launch of webOS means for Palm's future as an independent company.

Charter Equity Research analyst Edward Synder made a splash when he wrote in a recent research note that his contacts in the manufacturing and retail channel indicate that Palm has sold 300,000 Pre units since Sprint Nextel launched the smartphone June 6. The number is higher than many other estimates. Sprint may provide more detailed sales figures when it discusses its second quarter earnings this month.

Further, Synder said Palm will ship 1 million units to Sprint in its first quarter of production. He also said that he expects Verizon Wireless to launch a webOS device in early 2010, with AT&T Mobility following shortly thereafter.

Speculation about Palm as a possible takeover target also continues. Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu said in a recent note that there is "great value in Palm as a strategic acquisition." He listed Cisco, Dell, HP, LG, Motorola, Nokia and Samsung as possible suitors for the smartphone maker.

And in one more tidbit of Pre news, the website T3 is reporting that early next week Palm will make an announcement about the Pre's UK launch. Vodafone and O2 have been eyed as possible carriers for the Pre's Euro debut.

For more:
- see this NYT blog post [1]
- see this Barron's blog post [2]
- see this T3 post [3]

Related Articles:
Palm smartphone shipments drop 62% [4]
Sprint CFO says new iPhone not impacting Pre sales [5]
Sprint breaks sales records, looks to keep Pre momentum going
[6]Palm Pre goes on sale amid lines, tight supply [7]
Palm sales drop in anticipation of Pre [8]