\Yet to prove that it can turn around its fortunes for the better, Palm – the Pre and Pixi smartphone maker – has posted an $81.9-million net loss for its fiscal second quarter that ended November 30. The 37 cents per share loss exceeded the consensus analysts’ loss estimates of 32 cents per share.

Though the loss figures are comparatively better than the year-before loss figures of $506.2-million, the company’s overall revenue dropped below Wall Street’s expectations, to $78.1 million, as against the same quarter last year revenue of $191.6 million.

During the quarter, Palm shipped 783,000 smartphones to retailers; marking a 41 percent increase in year-on-year shipments, and a 5 percent increase in quarter-on-quarter shipments. However, there was a notable fall in the sell-through rate of the Palm devices – customers bought only 573,000 units during the quarter, which is 4 percent less than last year, and 29 percent less than first quarter.

Though analyst Shaw Wu, at Kaufman Brothers, has estimated that Palm can ship nearly 3.86 million smartphones in the fiscal year ending May 2010; he also noted that the biggest challenge that the company faces is to grab the attention of consumers and carriers.

Wu said: “The issue is not the product. The big concern for investors is Palm’s current lack of profitability. Palm needs to focus on their operations and introduce more carriers to have broader distribution.”