Expect Palm Pre Shortages, Limited Advertising Campaign

Posted by: Christopher Meinck on May 19, 2009 Print PDF

Tagged in: Sprint , Palm Pre

Shortly after the announcement of a June 6th release date for the Palm Pre, Sprint's CEO Dan Hesse indicated the company did not plan to spend much on advertising and expects supply shortages to develop. "We won't be able to keep up with demand for the device in the early period of time," said Hesse.

The company believes pent up demand and early buzz will drive demand initially. The company clearly has high hopes for the Palm Pre and multi-tasking appears to be an early talking point, given it's a clear differentiator from Apple's iPhone. "You can do many things at once,' Chief Executive Dan Hesse said Tuesday at an investors conference held by JP Morgan. "You don't have to close out one application to open another. You can do calendar and e-mail and surfing, all of those things at once."

The Palm Pre will be available starting June 6th at a price of $199.99 (after a $100 rebate and 2-year commitment). In addition to Sprint stores, the Palm Pre will be available at Best Buy, Radio Shack and select Walmart stores.

Rethinking your plan to camp out for the Palm Pre?

[via CBS Marketwatch]



Comments (9)

bdot1276
...
written by bdot1276, May 19, 2009
Doesn't plan to spend much on advertising? that doesn't sound like a good idea to me.
Christopher Meinck
...
written by Christopher Meinck, May 19, 2009
I'm guessing the early buzz will drive demand enough to generate shortages. I was hoping for a big, splashy ad campaign and huge first weekend numbers. Perhaps the ad spend matches supply.
drbyers
...
written by drbyers, May 19, 2009
Sprint is just doing the commmon-sense thing. Not spending any advertising money, since there won't be enough phones to go around.
0
...
written by Angel2, May 19, 2009
I've seen many " NOW " commercials and its usually the pre that they show in the end. I think that with all the hype, they dont really need to do a "media blitz". Millions of people are already probably waiting for it to come out to get it.
miles4000
...
written by miles4000, May 19, 2009
"Millions of people are already probably waiting for it to come out to get it."

I'm not to sure thats true based on Sprint not even having Pre specific TV ads. Just us geeks basically know about it.
0
...
written by kennyt, May 19, 2009
I think they want phones to get in peoples hands and create a bigger buzz from that. I know a lot of my friends are waiting for me to get it before they do. They dont want to buy out of there contracts for something thats not that big.
0
...
written by JmesNewPhone, May 19, 2009
Why not have the phone out in the stores a few days prior to availability? 50% of the people who say they "want" a PRE, will go in and buy it on day 1 (if available). The other 50% want to touch it, hold it, feel it, play with it, see how well it works, maybe comparing it against the iphone. I dont understand why they wouldnt have floor models available to touch & feel so people can start making their mind up on the phone they want a few days before launch. Sprint stores say "No, we wont have it a demo to play with until June 6". Why make thousands of people stand in line behind purchasers, just in order for them to touch & feel? I am considering iphone 3g vs PRE, but now it will be later than June 6, when I have a decision made. Be nice to already know my decision on June 6.

Am i smokin here?
0
...
written by Cosmopilot, May 19, 2009
Well, Sprint has a 30 day return policy. Seems to me, many people can touch and feel the phone risk free for a 30-day period. At which time, the iPhone will be announced...consumers can then elect to return the Pre if they opt for something else. I believe Palm and Sprint feel this phone is superior to others (apple, etc), they are not worried about it. Right or wrong, I think they believe once a consumer has this phone in their hands, they will be sold on it.

Just my 2 cents.

divertito
...
written by divertito, May 20, 2009
Supply shortages is a huge mistake. I guess I could get the Rhodium during the 30 day period while I wait for Pre, but I think plenty of people ready to pull the trigger that have been patiently waiting will happily go with their standby (the next gen iphone, one of the new android devices, touch pro 2, etc.) If the shortages are in full force when the next gen iphone becomes available, I think my threshold for waiting on the Pre could very well be crossed.

Then again, just under 400K on launch day could be more than enough for us early adopters. The first gen iphone sold less than that for the first three days they launched, but that thing was $600! How long do you guys think it will take for Palm to unload their launch supply rumored to be in the sub 400K unit range?

Write comment

smaller | bigger

security code
Write the displayed characters


busy