Today the most important news for Palm followers and haters alike was probably that Palm shipped a total of 823,000 smartphone units during the quarter, representing a 134 percent increase from the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2009. But even though sales of the Pre were strong, Palm still ended up losing $164.5 million, or $1.17 per share in its fiscal first quarter, which ended Aug. 31.

Palm has also announced that it intends to offer approximately 16 million shares of common stock. With this offering, the underwriters will have an option to purchase up to an additional 2.4 million shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The company plans to use the net proceeds for working capital and general corporate purposes. Elevation Partners has indicated its intention to buy $35 million of Palm shares in the offering, at the public offering price. That probably means that Palm is again short on cash, but Elevation Partners is still backing them up.

Another important thing from the Q1 FY 2010 Results is what Jon Rubinstein said about Palm, “We’re making significant progress with Palm’s transformation, and our culture of innovation is stronger than ever. We’re launching more great Palm webOS products with more carriers, and turning our sights toward growth.” Well folks, there you have it, the most important tidbits from Palm’s announcements today, although most of us were hoping to hear an exact number for Palm Pre smartphones sold to date. So I guess it was a little disappointing for most, if not all of us. Anyway, if you like to read the entire press release click here.