China's Huawei Technologies was tapped by loss-making smartphone maker Palm for preliminary acquisition talks, a source familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.

Huawei was approached through its investment bank sometime in mid-February to have "preliminary discussions," the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity because the process had not been made public.

The source said the discussion has since not moved forward.

Earlier, a source told Reuters Palm had hired bankers to explore several options, including a sale of the company, whose smartphone sales have suffered badly against rivals such as the iPhone and BlackBerry.

"As a matter of policy, Huawei does not comment on speculation about possible mergers or acquisitions.

Huawei is always open to consider opportunities that will further enhance its business development," the company said in a statement.