Palm Deals On Grayscale Models, Backlogged On Color Handhelds

Palm

The company recently lowered its earnings projections for its fourth fiscal quarter ended May, citing weak demand. Yet a Palm spokeswoman also confirmed a CRN report that the popular m515 handheld, which features a bright, color screen, is out of stock in value-add and retail channels. She said the "imbalance" should be corrected shortly but declined to provide any additional information.

An executive at Tech Data, meanwhile, expects to receive a refresh of the m515 by the end of the month.

Palm's m500 handheld comes with a grayscale screen and 8 Mbytes of memory. The device is priced at $299. The m105, with a grayscale screen and 8 Mbytes of memory, is priced at $149. Palm is awarding the free device via a mail-in coupon.

Palm's supply constrained m515 comes with 16 Mbytes of memory and a color screen. The device is priced at $399.

Palm's problems with supply and demand come at a time when the company is struggling to return to profitability.

On a recent analyst conference call, Eric Benhamou, Palm's chairman and CEO, said Palm would miss its spring target of reaching its break-even expectations.