Smartphone-maker Palm reported a widening loss for its latest fiscal quarter yesterday but investors reacted positively to news of strong initial sales for its new flagship device, the Pre (pictured left). Net losses for the firm’s fiscal first-quarter 2010 (ended 28 August 2009) hit US$164.5 million, compared to losses of US$41.9 million a year earlier. Revenues for the quarter came in at US$68 million, down from US$367 million a year ago. The company forecast improved (non-GAAP adjusted) revenues for its current fiscal quarter of between US$240 million and US$270 million, and for fiscal-year 2010 of between US$1.6 billion to US$1.8 billion. “The company’s planned product launches with additional carriers in the second half of its fiscal year, together with continuing sales from products launched in the first half of its fiscal year, are expected to yield stronger operating performance,” Palm said in a statement. Shares in the California-based company rose as much as 6 percent in response to the news in trading yesterday.

Palm shipped a total of 823,000 smartphones during the quarter, representing a 134 percent increase from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009 and a year-over-year decrease of 30 percent. Sales were dominated by the Pre, which was launched exclusively in the US by Sprint in June and is scheduled to arrive in Europe (via O2) by year-end. The device was the first based on Palm’s new webOS platform, while the second – the Pixie – was launched last week. “We’re launching more great Palm webOS products with more carriers, and turning our sights toward growth,” said Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s chairman and CEO. Palm strongly hinted in a later earnings call that the focus on the webOS platform means it will move away from making smartphones based on Microsoft’s Windows Mobile platform.