Palm's Product Launches Could Restrain Upside

By way of Engadget comes this Forbes article about a recent research reprot from analyst Susan Kalla at Caris & Co. about Palm. Kalla noted that Palm is "focused on smoothing out volatility on top line by pacing new product introductions that could restrain upside projections."

Kalla said, "One key issue with Palm is the acceleration of new products, and difficulty in predicting product transitions. However, the company thinks it has a good view of orders for six months, especially smartphones since they are customized to customer specifications."

Kalla pointed out that "the Windows Treo, with an EVDO radio function, should be in Verizon Wireless stores by the end of the fiscal third quarter ending February. She also said, "the replacement for the Treo 650, also with an EVDO radio, will ship in fiscal fourth quarter ending May to Verizon Wireless and also probably to Sprint Nextel"

The UMTS version for Cingular Wireless would likely be released closer to the end of the year. "We had previously thought the product would ship in the third quarter, but believe Palm delayed it so it can concentrate on the Windows Treo release," Kalla added.