SAN FRANCISCO : Handheld computer and cell phone maker Palm Inc posted a lower quarterly profit due to a delay in shipping its new Treo 750 smartphones and higher costs. But the company also backed an earlier forecast that the latest Treo would ship in the current quarter.

"We're still on track for this quarter," Chief Executive Ed Colligan said on a conference call with analysts. For the current quarter, Palm forecast revenue of $400 million to $410 million and earnings per share before items of 11 cents to 13 cents. Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates expect a current quarter profit of 17 cents per share, on average, and revenue of $411.5 million.