Dave's Download

Palm Pre Is Huge Gamble as Other Palms Suffer

By David LaGesse

Posted: March 4, 2009

The Treo Pro runs Windows Mobile

The Treo Pro runs Windows Mobile

Palm landed its Treo Pro smartphone on Sprint, the first U.S. carrier to offer a subsidy on the handset. The Treo Pro will go on sale March 15 for $200 after rebate and with contract.

Unfortunately for Palm and Sprint, the business-oriented phone is caught in the backwash of the Palm Pre. Enthusiasm for the upcoming Pre has depressed sales of other Palm models, the company said in an earnings note this week. Palm said sales won't top $90 million in a quarter that analysts had expected about $155 million. Notes Larry Dignan at the Between the Lines blog:

While a revenue drop-off was expected when Palm introduced the Pre the rate of decline is a bit stunning. When it comes to Palm’s turnaround it’s clearly going to be worse before the Pre allegedly saves the day.

He notes Palm is burning through its cash, with the good news that Palm expects the Pre to arrive as planned before July:

Add it up and it appears the Pre is an all-or-nothing proposition for Palm.

PRE-ferred Approach

In as much as I've been a Palm guy since the first ever Palm PDA, it's difficult to fantasize how Palm can compete with Apple unless they do the following:

A. Marketing, marketing, marketing...they need celebrities to pitch the Pre and they need a cool jingle...they need something catchy. Although, I did think it was odd that U2's Bono is one of Palm's biggest shareholder (or least the venture capital company Bono is invested in) yet U2's current concert tour is sponsored by BlackBerry. Palm should've taken advantage of this huge promotional opportunity.

B. They need to demonstrate how easy it is to use the Pre. They can't sound techy. Because, people who bought the iPhone don't care what language it was written in.

C. They need to make it cheaper than an iPhone.

D. People love the iPhone and Palm needs to figure out a way to connect to these same people emotionally. Having the best product like Pre does not mean people will buy it without that emotional connection.

I can't wait to buy the Pre after having had a Palm for years and experiencing my wife's iPhone. She also has an Apple computer and no matter how much she struggles with it, she will never admit that anything is better. So, I can't wait to show her what the Pre can do.

opl @ Mar 12, 2009 09:15:13 AM

Treo Pro

I got a Treo pro upgraded from Treo 650 last year. And i think i will be quite happy with the pro for couple of years. If you cant wait for the Pre, go Pro.

the only complaint is the key pad is a bit tight....and windows mobile hangs a bit. but I installed SPB mobile shell and all is good now.

Robin @ Mar 11, 2009 04:26:03 AM

Pre is professional class

The guy below who said that the Pre is not a business class phone and doesn't have built-in support for Exchange is wrong. The Pre will support Exchange ActiveSync and is certainly a business class phone just as the iPhone is now a business AND consumer-level device.

Barrgg of WA @ Mar 10, 2009 18:58:33 PM

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Our in-house gadget guru, Senior Writer David LaGesse, checks out the latest technologies and gizmos, from computer software to GPS systems -- and reports back to you in plain English.


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