SAN FRANCISCO --- Last year, Palm thought it had all the pieces for a turnaround in the market it pioneered: A new CEO known for making the iPod a household name, a sleek new smart phone called the Pre and fresh, intuitive operating software. Instead, the company is in danger of going the way of its 1990s Palm Pilot.

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PAUL SAKUMA/ASSOCIATED PRESS

One big problem for Palm, the maker of the Palm Pre Plus, is standing out in a market dominated by Apple and RIM.

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Several analysts say Palm Inc. might not remain an independent phone maker for more than a year or two. It just could be too late to stop the momentum enjoyed by Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerrys -- not to mention a growing crop of phones running Google Inc.'s Android software.

Palm spokesman Derick Mains said the company had no comment.

Consumers have gravitated toward smart phones for their versatile features, such as Internet access and applications that can be downloaded. One out of six U.S. adults had a smart phone last year, according to Forrester Research.

But Palm was slow to adapt. It began fighting back in earnest in January 2009 when it unveiled the stylish touch-screen Pre and webOS, software that allows Palm phones to run multiple apps simultaneously.

Palm released the Pre in June, for use on Sprint Nextel Corp.'s wireless network, and followed it in November with the cheaper Pixi. Verizon Wireless started selling upgraded models in January, and AT&T Inc. plans to offer webOS phones later this year.

Despite widespread availability and positive reviews, consumers haven't really embraced the products. Palm sold 810,000 phones in the quarter that ended Aug. 28. In the next quarter, sales fell to 573,000. And Palm's latest report, due March 18, is not expected to be bright. Palm recently cut its forecast, citing sluggish sales.

Not for a lack of trying: Palm spent $74.1 million on sales and marketing in its last reported quarter, up 64 percent from the previous year.

Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu thinks Palm could be purchased in the next year by a company such as Motorola or Dell Inc.