Top U.S. telecommunications executives Thursday gave a mixed outlook on the economy, saying business conditions have stabilized but they don’t see signs of a quick recovery.

The telecom industry has been relatively shielded from the worst effects of the downturn thanks to the growing need for wireless and Internet services. But it isn’t completely immune, as carriers face continued landline losses, weak demand from businesses and pricing pressure in wireless.

“Stabilization” was the key buzzword for the heads of AT&T Inc. (T), Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), Sprint Nextel Corp (S). and Qwest Communications International Inc. (Q), all of whom spoke Thursday at an investor conference hosted by Goldman Sachs.

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To say Palm has a lot riding on the Pre smartphone is an understatement. Amid stiff competition from Apple (AAPL) and Research In Motion (RIMM), Palm’s very survival may hinge on the success of the device, expected to reach Sprint Nextel (S) store shelves no later than June 30.

And while it’s hard to predict demand for the Pre, preliminary analysis suggests Palm (PALM) will make a healthy profit from the units it does sell.

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Dell (DELL) CEO Michael Dell has done little to dispel rumors that his company is working on a mobile computing device. In fact, he all but confirmed them while traveling in Japan on March 24 when he said: “It is true that we are exploring smaller-screen devices.” What form those devices will take remains a matter of heated debate. Talk is that Dell plans a smartphone that would compete with Research In Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry, Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone, and the various devices running software from Microsoft (MSFT), Nokia (NOK), or the Google-backed (GOOG) Open Handset Alliance. Prototypes of a Dell-made smartphone are being circulated in the wild and, according to Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu, got a cool reception from mobile-phone carriers including AT&T (T) and Sprint Nextel (S).

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“Sprint” is not something Sprint Nextel (S) has managed to do for a long time; maybe it needs to change the company’s name to “Splint.”

Certainly, they can use some first aid. The company this morning posted third-quarter revenue of $8.82 billion, a hair below the Street at $8.85 billion, and down 12 percent from a year earlier. The company posted adjusted EPS before amortization of zero cents, below the Street consensus of three cents. Wireless revenue was down 13 percent; total wireless customers fell 1.3 million in the quarter, including the loss of 1.1 million post-paid customers. The company’s adjusted OIBDA margin in the quarter tumbled to 23.4 percent, from 32.4 percent a year earlier. Wireless churn was 2.15 percent, up from 2.0 percent in the second quarter. On a GAAP basis, the company lost $326 million in the quarter, compared with a profit of $64 million in the year-ago period.

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In what he’s calling a “mid-quarter update,” Sanford Bernstein telecom analyst Craig Moffett says the rich–AT&T (T) and Verizon Communications’ (VZ) Verizon Wireless unit–are turning in impressive results while second-tier providers Sprint Nextel (S) (No. 3 in the U.S.) and Deutsche Telekom’s (DT) T-Mobile (No. 4), and third-tier providers MetroPCS (PCS) and Leap Wireless (LEAP), are putting up some pretty dispiriting numbers.

“Never before has the divergence between the high end and low end of the wireless market been so stark,” writes Moffett.

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Hard to know what to get excited about regarding David Faber’s report on CNBC this morning alleging that Sprint Nextel (S) is in talks with various parties that are “not informal”–in Faber’s words–to sell its struggling Nextel unit. Faber says private equity funds (remember them?) “aligned with telecom” are among interested parties, as is the Nextel International affiliate, better known as NII Holdings (NIHD).

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Shares of Sprint-Nextel (S) are soaring this morning after the company confirmed rumors last night that it canceled the sale of $3 billion of convertible bonds that threatened common stock holders with substantial dilution. According to the press release, Sprint nixed the deal because “the terms being offered were not economically attractive due to unfavorable market conditions.”

Maybe they also heard the hew and cry in the 14-percent drop in the stock yesterday following Wednesday’s announcement of the sale. And from potential bond investors, who realized their investment would be underwater with the fall in the stock price.

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Not a very encouraging quarter for Sprint-Nextel (S).

The telecom giant posted Q3 revenue of $9.1 billion, with a loss of 12 cents a share; the Street had expected $9.2 million and a profit of 3 cents. The company did say that adjusted EPS, which excludes special items and non-cash amortization, was a positive 6 cents.

The company lost a net 901,000 wireless customers in the quarter; churn was “just under” two percent, which was down 45 basis points from Q1, but flat from a year earlier. Wireless revenue was down 11 perent year-over-year, and down two percent sequentially. ARPU was steady at $56. Total customers served dropped to 51.9 million, from 54 million a year ago.

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