The loss-plagued Pre maker, Palm, consequent to reporting its rather disappointing fiscal first quarter results, recently announced that it intends committing fully to its own webOS platform, thereby implying that it would be dropping Microsoft's Windows Mobile operating system.

Though Palm's quarterly results happened to surpass the Wall Street expectations, its mammoth $164.5 million year-on-year loss; 30 percent fall in shipments; and a whopping 82 percent plunge in revenue, despite the launch of its Pre smartphone, were more than disquieting!

Noting that the company expects the sales of both its new webOS-based handsets - the Pre and the recently-launched Pixi - to take off in the forthcoming quarters, Jon Rubinstein, the Palm Chairman and CEO, said at Palm's quarterly earnings conference call that the company plans to focus totally on the webOS platform.

While Palm's announcement of dropping Windows Mobile would come as a blow to Microsoft, Palm would attempt to avail the strong sales opportunity during the year's fourth quarter, despite fierce competition from the iPhone, and new Android handsets from LG and Motorola.

Projecting a surge up to $240 million and $270 million for the next two quarters, Rubinstein said: "We're launching more great Palm webOS products with more carriers, and turning our sights toward growth. We're making significant progress with Palm's transformation, and our culture of innovation is stronger than ever."