Many global firms are experiencing this: anything going on in China will be halted next week for Chines New Year. Thus, this shutdown shouldn't be used as a reason to panic, but rather evidence that globalization has its bumps.
Here's the official statement. It should be noted that Palm says that production was ramped up pre-holiday to be sure there were enough Verizon devices for the carrier.
Palm regularly adjusts its product manufacturing levels to manage inventory. In anticipation of the Verizon Wireless launch and Chinese New Year, we increased production levels prior to February, and anticipate ramping production back up after the Chinese New Year ends.
It's true, however, that the latest comScore numbers show Android creeping up on Palm. The sheer variety of different devices is making an impact. Some even predict that the device availability, as well as the relative openness of Android vs. the App Store and its more draconian policies, will lead to Android overtaking the iPhone, in the (not so near) future.
