Palm Pre gets B+ for first day impact, Apple may be anticlimax too
Published: 8 June, 2009
So the Palm Pre finally hit US stores at the weekend, in one of the most hyped-up debuts since the original iPhone - and just as some Apple lovers are bracing themselves for possible disappointment at the vendor's developer forum this week, where it has been widely expected to unveil new phones.
Sifting through the vast amount of web chat about the Palm launch, the overall conclusion seems to be a 'B+' - strong launch, some good early reviews, but lacking the first day volumes or wow factor of the iPhone, and with the jury out on how many applications its webOS will attract (not to mention component shortages and the elusive European carrier deals).
Early reviews of the Pre praised its touchscreen/keyboard combination, its ease of use and the general webOS experience, while the main downsides were poor battery life (though battery is more easily replaceable than the iPhone's) and shortage of apps. Sprint told The Wall Street Journal it was not concerned by this last point. "You're not going to get a critical mass of developers coding for the new platform until you give them devices," said VP of product and technology development Kevin Packingham. "There are only so many things you can control in the initial delivery."
The latest prediction for Palm Pre sales volumes comes from iSuppli, which is forecasting 1.1m units this year. It thinks this figure could go to 1.3m if the firm announces an HSPA version before year end, but this would, of course, mean it would have to sort out a deal with at least one GSM carrier (not a US one, since Sprint's exclusive lasts at least until year end). This would be less than the 2.4m 3G iPhones that AT&T sold in the handset's first quarter, and similar to the one million BlackBerry Bold sold by the same operator in its first three months. Verizon Wireless sold about 2m BlackBerry Storms in the first quarter.
iSuppli's research note also calls on Palm to open up its webOS Linux-based software platform to third parties, to spread its software reach beyond its own devices. This, however, would break the tight integration of device and OS - which is still working well for Apple and RIM - and put Palm up against Google Android and Symbian, with their massive resources and market headstart.
Neither Sprint nor Palm released official figures on how many devices they hoped to sell on the Pre's first day. Most observers reported only short lines outside stores compared to those for the iPhone. Crowds were larger at Best Buy outlets, which were offering the phone for $199 upfront, rather than customers having to pay $299 and then get a $100 mail-in rebate.
Sprint Nextel has pinned almost as many turnaround hopes on the Pre as Palm, and the operator's CEO Dan Hesse said, at the official launch party, that the Pre's debut would be "a coming-out party for the new Sprint", claiming dramatic improvements in customer service and other areas where Sprint has been weak in recent years. "We're a very, very different company than we were 12 months ago," he said, claiming Sprint's networks are performing at their best ever levels, even on iDEN.
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