Palm, maker of the Treo line of smartphones, is reportedly wooing potential takeover suitors. Motorola, Nokia, or a private equity firm are the frontrunners in a potential sale. The one-time innovator has flagged in recent years, losing market share to smartphones from Nokia, Motorola and others in an increasingly fierce segment. High handset prices and only minor upgrades to its aging lineup have caused its share price to drop and fuel speculation of a takeover. Nokia, with its low market penetration in the US, could stand to gain more than other OEMs from acquiring Palm, but analysts believe companies such as Dell or HP could benefit most. Dell’s recent hiring of Motorola’s former mobile devices president Ron Garriques to run its new consumer electronics division has also led to the belief that Dell is preparing to enter the smartphone market. Palm declined to comment on the issue.

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