Palm Inc is already looking ahead to the marketing challenges it faces together with its carriers after revealing that consumers have not embraced its smartphones as much as anticipated.

In the past three quarters shipments have outpaced sell-through, with 1.957 million and 1.8443 million units, respectively.

Adoption is taking longer than we anticipated, chief executive Jon Rubenstein said today as the company revealed its lowered sales outlook for the fiscal year.

Even as Rubenstein promised to continue evolving the company's groundbreaking mobile operating system, he said the company will look to its carrier partners to increase awareness and drive sales.

We are working closely with them, he said.

Investors in Palm are already being prepared for the disappointment, with more details set to be released in mid-March.

The company said today that annual earnings for the current fiscal year will be well-below a forecasted range of $1.6-$1.8 billion.

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