Citing an inside source, a report from Bloomberg today suggests that Palm, pioneer of the PDA and producer of the Pre and Pixi smartphones, is actively seeking a buyer for the company as early as this week. Looking at potential suitors, rumours suggest that HTC is a likely candidate, along with Chinese tech giant Lenovo.

With HTC already seemingly committed to Android and Windows Mobile, it’s hard to see where Palm’s mobile operating system WebOS would fit into its plans, but HTC may see the brand recognition of Palm as being worth more than its technology. Although Palm’s reputation has taken a bit of a hit in recent years, its still a name with some pull among mobile consumers, while HTC’s brand is still in the process of establishing itself. And certainly, given HTC’s ongoing patent spat with Apple, Palm’s catalogue of patents will hold some appeal to its lawyers if not its engineers.

That Palm is looking for a buyer will come as little surprise to those who have followed the California-based company’s fortunes. Despite winning praise for its WebOS operating sytem, questions have been asked of the Pre and Pixi hardware, and Palm was always going to struggle to make an impact in an industry dominated by the iPhone, Blackberry and the ever-growing presence of Android.

After plunging by more than 60% last year, rumours of an HTC buyout saw Palm’s shares spike again yesterday, having already risen by 32% last week when speculation about a takeover bid first appeared.  On paper, HTC and Palm appear to be a great fit, but what do you think? What would it really mean for HTC and their future plans for Android and Windows Phone 7