Will the Pre and its shiny new webOS be enough to save Palm?
There you have it folks, the mystery Palm phone and OS are no longer a mystery and the world has now received its first glimpse at Palm’s hopeful savior. First impressions mean everything and for the time being it’s safe to say we were supremely wowed. Seriously, did you ever imagine you’d see the day when Palm would release a handset and OS combo so perfectly evolutionary and well designed? Once the initial high wears off however, we’re all brought back down to reality – a reality where Palm is a company on the verge of falling apart and the Pre represents what is likely the first in a series of handsets that will make or break it, literally. Is this sharp little piece of kit up to the task?
In another world, the Pre might very well devastate competitive offerings. Without having held the device of course, the hardware looks gorgeous and the new OS looks like it could just be the closest thing to a masterpiece we’ll see in 2009. What’s more, any web developer with a few 101 classes under his/her belt will be able to develop apps for Palm’s new OS with little or nothing new to be learned. The biggest wild card now however, might just be Sprint. By tying itself to a struggling carrier, Palm placed all of its eggs into a very, very fragile basket. Sure, there are pros and cons; an obvious pro is that the Pre will become a huge tool for Sprint. Sprint will invest tons of time, money and other resources into launching and marketing the Pre because, well, what else does it have going on? A WiMAX launch in Podunk, Iowa (calm down, that was a joke)? The Pre will be Sprint’s golden boy and it will get all of the love and attention Palm could ever imagine. Ok, so what’s the problem?
The major con, which is equally as obvious as the benefits mentioned above, is that Sprint is hemorrhaging subscribers and struggling more than any other US carrier to stay afloat. It is losing money like a Lions fan who can’t stop betting on the home team and short of recent layoffs, it is showing no signs of turning the ship around. By partnering with Sprint on this launch, Palm has basically created a relationship where each major player is standing on shaky ground. Does Sprint have a good network? Of course it does – blazing data speeds are nothing new to Sprint subscribers. There are tons of other factors however, such as customer service woes, spotty coverage and a Vista-like stigma that will prevent many from even considering the Pre when it is launched later this year. No, the Pre will certainly not result in a tremendous surge of business funneling through from competing carriers as the iPhone did for AT&T. Last time we checked, Palm fans are hardly as cult-like and fanatical as Apple fans and Joe the Plumber simply doesn’t care that much – that’s why he carries a RAZR.
We want the Pre to be a success, there’s no question. In fact, you can be sure you’ll find a few of these bad boys roaming the halls of BGR HQ. We also want Sprint to figure out how to plug all of the cracks in its dam. The issue here is that there may just be too many hurdles blocking Palm’s path to success and in its current state, Palm is most definitely no Dayron Robles. We can only hope that Palm managed to ink a good deal with Sprint that will allow them to bring its new handset to other carriers before it’s too late and upcoming competitive handsets make Joe the Plumber forget all about the Pre.
If the phone is, truly, as easy to develop for as they say it is, I think they’re back.
I don’t think it’ll bring Sprint back, though.
I think they’ve chosen Sprint as a partner because of the small subscriber base. They’ll work out the kinks on Sprint, and blow it up on Verizon.
Sprint is losing subscribers because they don’t advertise as well as the other networks and they haven’t had a must-have device for a while. They have consistently been the fastest and cheapest data network and their coverage is excellent. The problem is that your average joe won’t stick around for a WM phone or whatever. They want to be on “The Network” like the ads say or they want an iPhone or G1 or some other killer device. It’s about time Sprint started taking advantage of their network and competitive rates by launching a compelling device. I would have left Sprint only for something groundbreaking like a Tegra phone. If this lives up to the hype, I can get myself a nice upgrade, keep my QWERTY, keep my GPS, keep my streaming media, and keep my cheap data plan.
And seriously why do so many people dis Sprint but love VZW? My Sprint phone roams for free on VZW yet I pay a fraction of what VZW charges for data and my device isn’t crippled. You still have to flash Sprint software to your Verizon PPC to get the embedded GPS to work since VZW hasn’t figured out a way to charge for it yet.
I have Sprint and a BB but I really like the looks of this phone, it looks really clean and easy to use…I LIKE IT! We will see though if its a pretty face and nothing else soon hopefully.
But Sprint has really good coverage in major cities (Chicago) unlike others…ATT. I hope this will help bring back Sprint and Palm together, it should help a lil bit
The vague release date probably means several months wait. Chances are, by the time the pre is released it will be overwhelmed by other more desireable products available on other more desireable carriers. If it dropped soon it could stand a chance.
Sprint is not as bad as everyone is saying it is. Yes they are loosing subscribers, but for the most part I see it as a fact that their phones lacking not their network, and this might be one of those steps in getting it back on track. Sprint does have great rates but their reliance on out dated windows mobile phones, and the fact they when they put out a new blackberry it has been out for over a year on verizon or ATT. If I remember right Sprint was the first carrier to release 3G, and when they had cutting edge phones, brining Sanyo, Samsung, and LG phones to US shores it was the other carries that were still using Nokia and Motorola phones. Now the role is reversed and Sprint needs to remember what built their company.
They’re back and I’m going to be rich.
Palm or Sprint? I am pissed because I almost bought a ton of Sprint stock a few weeks ago when it was down.
@ neodorian
I’m not dissing Sprint. I’m just pointing out the reality of their situation. Customers are running from Sprint, and it will take more than one phone to stop the bleeding.
@Nate
Probably. I’m just glad to see them going in the right direction. I hate seeing the playing field narrow and one or two big players taking over everything. That sort of thing is always terrible for the consumer. Likewise, I enjoy their service (as much as you can enjoy any telco) and would hate to lose it.
They don’t advertise as much? Did we all forget about the Instinct?? Those stupid commercials were and are EVERYWHERE, which may have had a negative effect as well. They spent so much advertising on the Instinct, and it didn’t deliver–and that was the problem.
Plus, there’s also the stupid black and white commercials, as well as the tie-ins with the Heroes TV show.
Awareness isn’t Sprint’s problem. It’s quality and phone choices.
http://now.sprint.com/pre/?id12=CHP_Phonestab_010809_Pre
@Jeremiah
I may have seen some of those but it is nothing compared to the number of iPhone and general Verizon commercials out there. Sprint tried to go for the subtle and classy route with the b&w but I don’t think that is what sells devices to the masses. They also have some excellent devices. They were the first with the new round of HTC phones which are excellent but once again, not for the average consumer that wants pretty and easy. It is good that they are getting a mass audience device like this. Combine that with the cheap data and you have a winner.
You mean this is the Linux-powered Palm phone they’ve been talking about *FOR YEARS*? Wow.. I’m disappointed.
From what I’ve seen, Sprint’s data isn’t as cheap as it once was.
BG, why dont you have any Palm Ninjas? You leaked the storm, before there were ANY pics/mockups etc. We have to wait till the keynote to see the palm device? Are you slipping?
Did everyone notice it has wifi? What will apple geeks use to downplay it as just another failed iphone attempt?
I think this is gonna be awesome and I love that the iPhone now has serious competition from Android & now Palm!! I just wish they hadn’t chosen Sprint
I’ve been with Sprint for 6yrs, and haven’t had a problem. Many of my friends are on the ATT network and are constantly having problems, even with Verizon. I was seriously going to get me an iPhone for the holidays, I’m glad I waited.
@Nate: It is still $15/month for unlimited 3G on WM and Palm phones. No SERO or any of that either.
It doesn’t at all surprise me that Palm chose Sprint to do this deal. Compare Sprint with Verizon: Sprint is far more open to things like an App Store that doesn’t send all its money directly to VZW. ATT has the iPhone and a host of BB and WinMo phones; TMo is busy working on the Android platform phones (or, looking at their past track record, a whole lotta nothing…). I think the Pre will do ok on Sprint, though.
I’m curious to see how the keyboard feels and the dimensions of the thing, but so far it look like a home run. This was built by HTC, or am I thinking of something else?
i say it would be better off in the hands in verizon and att instead of struggling sprint or in a place where there isnt a large risk of a carriar going under
My xmas wish is for the gsm/hspa variant. Pretty please palm!?
You guys make some great points. I agree about the vague release date. Without having any sort of inside knowledge, I’d say May/June. By then, were looking at the G2, Storm 9520, possibly/probably new iPhone, the Niagara for Verizon, and whatever else super hotness we don’t know about. It will be tough.
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).
I’ts a great looking phone but Palm just keeps making all these bad choices, i mean why sprint & not verizon, sprint is a sinking ship. The OS looks really good although i think the phone design is not that great, i mean have ya seen what HTC has been doing lately? they got some pretty need stuff.