[Macworld]

Post your comments for Palm Pre fans line up in early hours to be first with the new smartphone here

[rab777hp]

This seems to be like the iPhone launch

[dreyfus]

rab777hp said:

This seems to be like the iPhone launch

Well, Palm would be extremely lucky to sell 1 million Pres until the end of the year; the iPhone 3G was sold more than a million times over the first weekend. It is a nice device, but launching it with a mail-in rebate and such low stock was a failure, as media and the public's attention will move elsewhere in less than 24 hours.

[rab777hp]

I think they will sell a million this year

[hillstones]

rab777hp said:

I think they will sell a million this year

With Sprint as the carrier? Doubtful.

[hillstones]

"All of them said they had tried the iPhone, or owned one, and wanted a hardware keyboard instead of a touchscreen, finding the touchscreen hard to use."
That would be user error. It's not that hard to tap a letter on the screen. The touchscreen keyboard is very easy to use, and the longer you use it, the faster you can type on it.

[rab777hp]

And that is exactly their ace in the whole, multiple carriers.

[OriginalMacRat]

"This seems to be like the iPhone launch"



at 1/100th the scale!!!! :^0

[rab777hp]

not really actually

[tmedia1]

I played with one today at Best Buy. Its a very very cool device! Definitely the best competition to date for the iPhone.

[dmhuff]

Will they sell as many as the iPhone? No
Do they have Apple's attention? Yes
Competition is a good thing. It will keep Apple on their toes. If a new iPhone is announced today, it will be interesting to see if it is able to steal some of the Pre's thunder.
Dave
MacHomeSupport

[Steve_S]

rab777hp said:

And that is exactly their ace in the whole, multiple carriers.

You seem desperate to somehow demonstrate the Pre is doing as well as the iPhone did during it's debut. It's similar, but on a much smaller scale. While it's impressive that Palm was able to generate interest enough to get a few people to stand in lines, they were no where near the scale as that of the original iPhone, much less the iPhone 3G launch. Clearly, even Palm didn't expect any real volume based on their low production volumes.

As for the multiple carriers issue, Apple is free to pursue this option as well. However, this is no magic bullet either. Exclusive contracts typically yield much higher product subsidies. This impacts profit margin and price of the product. Palm is selling an 8GB device for $300 ($200 after rebate). In July, that will be competing against the expected 3rd generation 16GB iPhone for the same price (no rebate required) and that's while Palm has the exclusive contract. Once the exclusive contract is removed, don't be surprised to see the $100 rebate removed as well.

[fribhey]

Steve_S said:

>In July, that will be competing against the expected 3rd generation 16GB iPhone for the same price (no rebate required) and that's while Palm has the exclusive contract. Once the exclusive contract is removed, don't be surprised to see the $100 rebate removed as well.

you mean the expected 3rd generation 32GB iPhone ;)

[Steve_S]

fribhey said:

you mean the expected 3rd generation 32GB iPhone, there already is a 16GB iPhone ;)

Yeah, but I was referring to the same $200 price point. I'd be surprised if Apple will offer a 32GB version at the $200 price point. Most rumors are expecting the 32GB phone for $300.

8GB is the bare minimum for a media rich phone like the iPhone or the Pre. For some, that will be fine, but for many, it will not. Especially if Apple adds the video capability as has been rumored.