Best Buy answers questions on Palm Pre day
We’ve been getting an enormous response to the news that Best Buy’s Palm Pres will go for $100 less (well, basically) and we hit up Best Buy to try and get some answers on various questions you guys have been asking. Straight Talk Express style. Hit the jump for some possibly valuable info that could save your ass from going home without webOS in your pants.
Scott Anderson, director of merchandising at Best Buy Mobile took some time out to clarify the following for us:
Q: First off, what’s up with the stock situation? Forget rumors, Dan Hesse himself has said there’s probably a greater chance of getting a nice Sprint customer service rep than nailing a Pre on launch day. How’s Best Buy’s stock going to be?
A: Like most of the significant handset launches, we expect inventory to be in limited supply for the first 4-8 weeks.
Q: What about preorders? A lot of people are incredibly excited over the Palm Pre and that the device will be available at Best Buy with an “instant” mail-in-rebate. Will you guys be doing any preorders, reservations, etc? How will you deal with long lines if there are some?
A: The addition of the Palm Pre expands our already large assortment of smartphones. We are excited about the opportunity to present consumers with many choices and solutions as they look to meet their individual mobile technology needs. Best Buy Mobile is initiating a “ticketing process” beginning on June 6. Meaning, if any store were to sell through all of its inventory, the store would begin to log customer names in an effort to prioritize them for the next shipment’s arrival.
Q: Ok, cool. Will every Best Buy location be selling the Pre or is there a “limited” launch like we reported a little while back?
A: Every Best Buy Mobile store that offers Sprint phones, which is nearly 1,000 stores, will have the Pre.
So there you have it folks. If you have any additional questions hit us in the comments and we’ll try and pass them on. You can also stop by Best Buy Mobile for free upgrade checks to see if you’re eligible for a new smartphone. That will help to speed things up on launch day, you know, if you’re the nice person type.
I am on a sero plan. I have my upgrade eligibility coming up on June 1st. Will I be able to buy the phone from best buy and take advantage of the BBM pricing? Is this specifically for new customers only. Thanks in advance!!
first
hmm.
First CIA agent.
Hope Best Buy Canada jumps on the Pre bandwagon
Is there an online pre-order process with Sprint, yet?
Anyone who doesn’t want to wait in line @ the Sprint Corporate store, or BestBuy can get the Pre without Mail-in-rebate at any Sprint Kiosk or Radioshack location on launch day as well.
I am really getting excited over this phone. It has a shitload of potential. Its definitely gonna take some market share from RIM and/or Apple.
Umm hoping the Sprint Store follows Suit?
I’ve been trying to post that for 8 mins.
Go for the rebate!
I was suppose to get a $100 rebate for my centro.
I got check in the mail for $250.
Since Sprint is about as flexible as a Nazi SS guard on allowing non EvrythingExpensive plan users from getting a Pre, will BB reps have anymore freedom to decide who qualifies for a Pre or not?
If Palm does this right (meaning no hardware/software failures) and it just works, it will
a) drive the mulitasking and integration market into the limelight forcing Apple to move faster and MS to cry they won’t be able to compete for a year or more
b) crush BlackBerry or at least deligate it to a business only niche market. Too much software and average/poor quality hardware for RIM.
c) put Palm back on top. Especially if they follow up with a state of the art version in about 6-8 months. i.e. higher res screen, better battery, more software apps, better camera, etc. Basically everything that is coming out in Smartphones now, but using crappy software like WM 6.1.
What about the touchstone and Holsters will that be available on the 6th also?
I’m a little confused over something. Will the Pre be capable of having email, contacts and calendar pushed to it via Microsoft Exchange?
I think the SERO question is old. If you want a Pre you need to change your plan. It sucks but that’s the way it is.
first FAIL!
Larry, the Pre will sync with Exchange e-mail, calendar and contacts. From Palm’s website:
Pre uses the Palm® Synergy™ feature to bring your Outlook®,2 Google, and Facebook® calendars together for one logical view of your day. And if you have the same contacts in different places, Pre can link them together, making it easy to find the information you need.
i just pre’d in my pants
The Pre will be big no matter what happens, i mean just look at Sprint phone line up and you will agree, Sprint has about 49 million customers and about 95% of them will agree that sprint along with Tmobile has the worst phone selection around.
i dont feel this thing is ANY BETTER than my blackberry bold so why is everyone acting like its such a revolution? blackberries have been multitasking properly for years now! sure it’s better than the iphone, but not really better than a blackberry bold.
Can we order online?
@joshua ITs cheaper then the blackberry and ATT plans
Can we all please stop this “frist” crap its lame and old
this is true weezy. but i enjoy the AT&T video services and my coverage is epic is my area so im not complaining. oh and the battery is a BEASTTTTTTTT!