Handheld device maker¹ Palm is in the market for a buyer, as sales of its latest smartphones fail to catch up rivals such as Apple and BlackBerry.

手持设备生产商奔迈希望可以被收购，其旗下几款最近智能手机销售量未能赶上诸如苹果、黑莓之类的对手。

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The Palm Pre was dubbed an 'iPhone killer³'

Palm was a trailblazer（开拓者，先驱者） for handheld devices but its latest offerings, the Palm Pre and the Pixi, have not sold as well as hoped.

Computer firms such as Dell and HP could be among potential bidders⁴（出价人，投标人） .

It could provide them with a quick way into the mobile market, said Ovum analyst⁵ Tony Cripps.

"There has been a lot of speculation⁶ about firms like Nokia buying Palm but I don't think that is an obvious fit. I'd look to（照看，注意） the HPs or Dells of this world as both have mobile ambitions," he said.

According to the Reuters news agency, Palm hired bankers last week to explore options for the firm, including a sale of the company.

The Palm Pre was launched last year to much hype（大肆宣传） and was seen as a potential 'iPhone killer' but sales figures have been disappointing.

Its webOS operating system was praised for its functionality and usability.

But it is the enduring（持久的，能忍受的） Palm brand that will really interest buyers, Mr Cripps thinks.

"Palm's webOS has only been in the market for a short time and is somewhat unproven but there is a residue⁷（残渣，剩余） of fondness for Palm as a brand, especially in the US," said Mr Cripps.

Geoff Blabler, an analyst at research firm CCS Insight believes the operating system is a big asset（资产，有利条件） for Palm but is not sure that it alone can sell the company to potential bidders.

"The challenge for Palm is finding a buyer prepared to pay a premium⁸ given the abundance of alternative platforms and widespread adoption⁹ of Android," he said

In the past six months, the company's stock has dropped 69%. It has a stock market value of $870m (£563m).

Palm's shares rose more than 17% on the reports of a possible sale.