Best Buy to trial launch Palm Pre on June 7th
Well lookie here. This one isn’t 100% confirmed just yet but a ninja hit us up with what could be some pretty juicy launch details for the rumor mill’s favorite handset du jour, the Palm Pre. Here we go — according to our ninja, Best Buy will be getting its hands on a limited inventory of Pre handsets for a trial launch on June 7th. Sprint will be direct-shipping the lot to arrive on the 6th and in total, about 4,500 units will be spread throughout Best Buy Mobile locations across the country. That might not seem like a lot, well, because it isn’t, but each and every Best Buy Mobile will be getting at least one Pre to hawk. Speaking of hawking, our ninja has some numbers to report as well. Pricing is supposedly still being discussed but the probable points are as follows: New customers with a 2-year contract, $199.99. Existing customer upgrades, $299.99. Outright, $999.99. Yes, seriously.
When do you need multi-tasking – gee – I dont know, maybe when I want to switch from the app I’m in to say the contacts list, or calendar, etc – And not wait for the damn thing to reload every-time.. Multi-tasking is a requirement on any device. Quick app switching, multiple apps running at the same time and tightly integrated is key, and why this webOS and the pre will do very well.. In a year when even more devices are running WebOS on various networks, lets see if your still saying multi-tasking is overrated..
well at-least it has a REAL keyboard that can be hidden and doesn’t waste screen real-estate.
Can’t wait to go to BB and get all the germs off of the sample attached to a wire rope!
People I dont know if you’ve noticed but most of the time Best Buy sells their phones for their new activations cheaper than they do for upgrades. Oh yeah did I mention this was Best Buy?!? Their prices are never the same as they are at a Sprint store. PLUS none of this is official. So whats all the comotion for?
This might be true, but it will only come after the Pre is released at the Sprint Store. I have inside information, with an email from an insider (who I don’t want to get fired), that the Pre will be released on May 17th and there will be an announcement soon (um, that’s good because it’s almost May 17th). What is really horrible news about this is that it is confirmed that the Pre ABSOLUTELY DOES require an “Everything” account. Honestly, I’m shocked that Palm would allow this. This will severely limit the number of Pres sold by Sprint… will make it in line with the success of the Instinct, instead of the iPhone, which it SHOULD blow away, but unfortunately won’t. Why should Sprint be shocked that not everyone could afford a $100 per month phone plan? Even if this WASN’T a recession. Sprint’s got the dream network for this phone, but unfortunately, the CEO must be a little shy in the brains department. It seems common sense should tell them that $100 per month phone plans are not going to hit anywhere near a critical mass the way the iPhone has. Perhaps it will arrive soon on Verizon.
Save this email and look at it again in about a year. You’ve not seen this phone like I have. It eats the iPhone for lunch, and on Sprint, you don’t drop 45% of all phone calls.
bukkake on the pre. everyone is slamming the iphone but you all gotta remember, it’s palm. The phones will crash, freeze and malfunction. A leopard does not change its spots.
I think phonephantic needs the sit on a toilet for awhile.
@ SBT please tell me u r joking, there are different versions of the everything data plan. Mine is $70.
Dear Sprint,
You do this and make us pay more for the same phone that new customers get, I’ll quit Sprint.
Phonephanatic, the iPhone crashes too. A lot. You sound like a scared apple fanboy to me. I can’t wait to see what this phone can do
Posted from BGR Mobile (iPhone).
Are people really that surprised about the higher price for upgrade… Thought you would be used to it by now.
@phonephanatic: I’ve been using a Palm Centro for year now, and I can honestly say I have never experienced any of those “Palm” symptoms you have mentioned. That is unless I push it to the brink, like playing music while using LJP or something, but that would happen to most phones anyways.
Calm down everyone…
When was the last time Best Buy Mobile gave customers a reasonable price for off-contract phones?
BBM has a long history of taking ordinarily affordable on-contract phones, and for no apparent reason, making the off-contract price upwards of $800. They did the EXACT SAME THING for a couple of the blackberrys. And I think they pink instinct was $900 for some reason. My point is that it isnt the first time and it wont be the last, so stop acting like you’re the first people to get price-gouged.
It’s a best buy mobile thing, not a sprint and palm thing. So why dont we all just chill.
wow…. people dont understand how 3rd party dealers make there money….
sprints retail price for this should be around same price as a blackberry…500-550 outright.
3rd party dealers such as bestbuy, sams club and other stores do not sell the phones for the same prices as a corporate store… at corporate stores all customers, whether they are new or upgrading get the same prices…
also, the pricing that bestbuy offers is not the same as in a corporate store… sprint does not make the pricing in bestbuy, bestbuy makes those prices…
my prediction is it will be $299.99 with a $100 MIR…
to everyone who says there is NO way this would be released at Best Buy before Sprint stores…it’s been done before, most recently with the Touch PRO…definite possibility for this to happen.
This is totally bogus, people would be insane to believe it. as much as i have been waiting for the pre if my 2year upgrade cost is more than a new customer cost….inc iphone or storm.
For all you “pre sucks” or “iphone”sucks people did you ever think that what you hate others love? All that being said i wouldnt find 250 a bad price. They also offer discounts for your old phone, ex:my curve is a 50 dollar bill credit (which i wouldnt do,ebay is much more profit iam sure).
i love all the “pre blows away the iphone” talk. its not out yet people, and those 1 min vids you get on tech sites or youtube don’t mean s***. i do get the multi-tasking argument, but also believe it gets too much weight. but lets not forget all the downsides multi-tasking can bring. it means nothing in terms of how this phone is viewed if it creates a slow, laggy user experience. Another is battery life. there are gonna be plenty of idiots out there that leave everything running in the background and end up with a slow as hell phone with a battery that doesnt last all day simply because they don’t understand CPU usage and battery life. those sort of complaints will kill this phone. lastly, i haven’t seen a company that has been able to come up with a GUI that even deserves comparison to the iphone, and while i’m hoping palm has managed this, i’m skeptical because i honestly think apple is king in this category.
yeah i have a bit of a bias, but i’m not a total fanboy because i know that competition is always a good thing, and i think apple needs to feel a little more heat. but palm has been slow as hell getting this thing to market, and the list of advantages over the iphone have shrunk drastically to me since loading the 3.0 beta on my iphone. its only beta 4 and this thing is already stable as hell and negates almost all of my complaints about the phone. and thankfully i listen to my ipod when i poop and multitask(one of the funniest comments i’ve read in a while, btw jailbreak your touch and you can do all three)
This is poor reporting if this is to be believed:
http://insidesprintnow.wordpress.com/2009/05/03/boy-genuis-not-so-smart-palm-pre-best-buy-launch/
I respect Zach so I’m torn…
If I can’t get one on day one because of a “stunt” like this, then I will go get an i-Phone. At least then I won’t have to pay the early termination fee from ATT. Seems like maybe Palm WANTS to fail??
Hey moron, it’s a rumor, simmer down. And it’s an obviously false one at that.
Best Buy will NOT be launching the Pre in June. The Pre is coming to exclusive and corporate retailers first. Best Buy will not carry for 60 days after that launch. Earliest Best Buy can hope for is July.
@aldavon
Where were you when the Sprint HTC Touch Pro was released? It was released at Best Buy Mobile at least two weeks earlier before it was released at the Sprint Store, It was also cheaper than sprint because Best Buy Mobile had INSTANT discount, and i’m not talking about online release. I won’t be suprise that Best Buy Mobile pricing is cheaper than the Sprint store when it hits, like they did on the HTC Touch Pro. Best Buy Mobile have exclusive on certain new releases phones from Sprint.
I do believe the $999 price is just a placeholder until they get an idea of how much the unit will actually cost (for them to buy/ship to stores). The iPhone first appeared in Best Buy’s inventory system as $999 as well.
For christ sakes, it a cellphone, not even the iPhone didn’t cost so much when it launched. $1000 is definitely too much