The long-term success of the Palm Pre could be in jeopardy as Verizon may opt out of offering the smartphone, therefore limiting sales solely to subscribers of the No. 3 carrier Sprint.

Sprint currently holds the exclusive carrier contract for Palm's (NASDAQ: PALM) signature handset, but Verizon Wireless President and CEO Lowell McAdam had told investors during a conference call in May that the carrier would begin selling the smartphone in six months.

Palm has shown some encouraging signs lately, including its efforts to build a thriving ecosystem around its new mobile platform, webOS, marked by the release of the Pixi and progress on the webOS app store. But many analysts have speculated that the company's survival hinges on making the Pre available on multiple networks.

Still, at least one industry observer thinks it's too early to start drafting a eulogy for Palm over the speculation that Verizon could bow out of the Pre.

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