Mobile phone maker Palm has reported disappointing financial figures for Q1 2010, despite the launch of the Pre, its much-hyped new touchscreen smartphone.
Palm turned in revenue of $68m, a fall over 80% compared to the same period last year. Unadjusted losses for the period stood at $164m, which climbed from losses of $41.9m a year ago.
The company however says that adjusted losses, taking into account one-time costs, stood at $13.6m, a slight change from the $12.8m recorded a year previously.
There was some good news for Palm, as the firm shipped 823,000 smartphones during the quarter, with the majority of sales being Pre devices. This represents a year on year increase of 134%.
We’re making significant progress with Palm’s transformation, and our culture of innovation is stronger than ever. We’re launching more great Palm WebOS products with more carriers, and turning our sights toward growth, said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and CEO of Palm.
The company also confirmed during a call with analysts that it has dropped Windows Mobile in favours of its home-grown operating systems WebOS.
The Pre, labelled by some as a rival to the iPhone, was released in US earlier in the summer. A UK release is expected soon.
Although the Pre was generally well received the firm is still struggling against competition from the likes of Apple’s iPhone and RIM’s line of BlackBerry devices. A number of new handsets from the likes of HTC and Samsung have also increased competition in a crowded market.
