Best Buy Mobile to get some Pre stock on June 7th?
By Jacob Schulman 
posted May 3rd 2009 6:24PM
posted May 3rd 2009 6:24PM
posted May 3rd 2009 6:24PM
HP Pre 3
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I'm gonna call this rumor false. If a limited release is coming on June 7th, Palm either is trying to kill their company or they think they can take down the iPhone's hype (which they can't do).
Or they need to test their WebOS servers with a load far greater than they tested them with already but far less than a full release of the Pre would "test" them at.
WebOS servers? Methinks you misunderstand what WebOS is..
I would humbly suggest you read one of Palm's SEC filings where they mention, repeatedly, their new WebOS servers.
You think Synergy is done in-phone?
Lol!
ping test ping
I hope for Palm's sake that June 7 date is wrong! Cause if it isn't then Palm might live to regret that decision. If, and I stress if Apple do in fact unveil a new iPhone at WWDC '09 and it turns out to be fantastic, then the Pre is gonna end up being completely overshadowed (I mean everyone and their grandma knows a new iPhone is coming out). I've said many times previously that this phone should have been released at least one month ago in order to build some momentum and have the spotlight to it's self. If it's released on June 7th, I can't help but feel it's a very bad move.
" ..., and I stress if Apple do in fact unveil a new iPhone at WWDC '09 and it turns out to be fantastic,..."
Apple unveil something new, exciting, that will be gushed over by every media outlet from San Francisco to Shanghai, and overshadow EVERYTHING else going on in the staid tech industry for about a week?
I don't know if you're new, but, I'd give that about a 1000% chance of happening.
Oh yeah, and Steve Jobs is gonna walk out with some new gadget, and Walt Mossberg's head is going to cave in.
The Palm Pre? The fact that we don't actually have this phone yet, means Palm's already missed their window of opportunity. The stock's doubled since March (ahem, much every company listed on the NYSE) so at least the Palm Execs made some nice bank. Hope it was enough to retire on.
True or not, this is about when the Pre will be released. Most signs point to late-May or early-June.
I'm most definitely looking forward to this phone because
- It is on the cheapest and fastest data network in my area
- It gives you a nice multitouch screen without taking away your real QWERTY
- It is a multitasking beast. Lack of multitasking is one thing that kept me from ever getting an iPhone. A real smartphone can do more than one thing at a time.
- Exchange/Gmail/Facebook integration. This pretty much spans my professional, personal, and social contact structure. Having all this on one calendar will be a godsend for us busy ADHD types.
- Turn-by-turn, Pandora, and all kinds of other neat and useful apps.
I look forward to picking up a pair of these for my gf and I. She's been using the same crappy flip phone on an overpriced VZW account for way too long.
The only thing I don't like about this phone so far is that I see no mention of a tethering app since it was removed from the product description. I use my Touch Pro as a wireless modem all the time and I will be bummed to give this up. I would imagine that someone will come out with a WMWifi-type app shortly but it's the one must-have thing I haven't seen confirmed yet.
I completely agree on the tethering (a friend turned me on to WMWIFI a few weeks ago and it has made my mogul much more bearable), but i wouldn't expect it to be a legal program or come without another $15 per month (if not $40). Also it's looking like the data plan increased cost will put it close to the iphone (i'm comparing two phone plans for me and the Mrs, iphone is $120 / month plus $16 for nights and weekends at 7pm, palm is $129/ month for the same). If sprint had kept the data plan charges the same as it's normal windows mobile devices this would be a no brainer, as it is the physical qwerty and exchange is pretty much the only sticking point in my mind (assuming apple doesn't come out with a newton/netbook/phone, which would be a game ender).
If it's got the same crappy keyboard as the centros then it's just the latest fail from Palm. Keyboard should have slid out in landscape mode. That's ok though... us ex-Palmers are used to disappointment.
That's exactly why I despise the G1.
Nah, portrait is the way to go. I don't want my entire aspect ratio to change every time I want to type. Just slide out and go, no readjustment.
Another thing the Pre gets right, right, right.
@ Gibson, good point. I was thinking landscape made more sense, but I think you are right portrait is the way to go. I hope eventually they release a virtual keyboard for short searches so you won't have to pull out the keyboard everytime. Either way, I love the pre.
am i the only one who always thinks Prefontain?
Go Pre
cool small phone- will be interested to see how it sells - not a big fan of tiny keyboards.
Why the hell would I have to pay $100 more for an upgrade then a new customer? If I am able to upgrade, I may as well cancel service (out of contract) then sign up as a new customer and save myself $100.
it's only 100 more if you're still within contract, without contract you might as well be new
I think as long as you are signing a new 2-year contract you get the $199 price. If you are a current, out-of-contract, customer, as you are, you still qualify for the $199 price.
The upgrade price would be for current customers who still have several months remaining on their contract, but want a new phone. They receive a discount, but not as large of a discount as signing a new 2-year deal.
Not true, most of the time at BBYM the upgrade price is higher than the new customer price. Regardless if you are out of contract or not.
Why would an upgade have to pay $100 more then a new customer? Why not just cancel my current account then (out of contract) and sign up as a new customer?
Because your termination fee is likely more than $100.
Ok, so as long as I am elegible for the $150 savings I am golden then and can pick one up for the $199 price?
Does anyone know if Best Buy is taking pre-orders (no pun intended) or doing a reserve list so I can ensure I get one? LOL
*waits for it to hit Australia*
Okay whats with this June 7. Rumors has it that June 7th is the main release date...Sprint or somebody just release it already unless your not sure about it. What has changed on the phone since Jan? Or what was added or tweaked? If it wasn't no micro sd slot then just release the phone! Its not going to be perfect!
The $999.99 price is usually what a price is on new phones when they are put on our system until pricing is confirmed. This is nothing new.
um. yeah that $999 price is probably wrong.. id guess more like 400. the phone doesnt look like anything special, proprietary os on a htv touch with an uncomfortable looking slideout keyboard.
will wait for the tp2 or diamond2.
so this thing will probably be available to AT&T customers right?
fuck no. was that... sarcasm?
This is a Sprint Phone.
ATT has the iPhone. (ATT being the biggest phone company in the US)
Apple had first dibs since they came about 3 years before the Pre.
End of story.
I think Sprint has exclusive at least until the end of the year.
June 7, 2009: JUDGEMENT DAY. The Mighty Empire of Apple shall fall, and a new kingdom will rise. Myriads upon myriads of Iphone totting Jackasses will be defeated, and will usher in a new era.
June 8, 2009: THE GREAT AWAKENING. Apple will debut the 3rd generation iPhone at WWDC and remind people why the iPhone is the greatest smartphone. Those who have boughten Pre will feel ripped and frantically try to eBay their phones in effort to purchase the new iPhone.
First the iPhone would have to actually BE a smartphone in order for it to be considered the "greatest." Keep drinking the kool-aid.
@ sweet greggo.
Well, if you don't consider it a smartphone, than you need to recognize it as a phone thats smarter than you.
1) Unless it is absolutely a collossal flop the likes of which consumer electronics companies rarely see, the Pre will sell well enough to justify its existance. Although it isn't out yet, it does look amazing. While it may not live up to all the hype, I'm willing to bet the Pre is a fantastic phone in Sprint's lineup that any carrier would love to have.
2) I know you're trying to hate the iPhone, but it really is a smartphone; don't kid yourself.
P.S. There's no such thing as a [insert gadget here]-killer. If some other smartphone becomes more popular than the iPhone, it won't be because of that device, it will be because people don't think the iPhone is the best smartphone anymore. In short, the Pre won't dethrone the iPhone until the iPhone declines in popularity by itself.
I mean this really doesn't tell us anything we didn't already know.. Sprint is bleeding subscribers so it makes since that they would have an outrageous off contract price.. What I don't understand is this "limited" release is all about.. 4500 phones? thats a drop in a bucket..
Everyone keeps lumping Best Buy Mobile into Best Buy... Why is that?? Best Buy Mobile is 50% Best Buy and 50% Car Phone Warehouse.
Everything I have seen is that Best Buy Mobile has THE best prices day to day (most times by a VAST MARGIN) AND No mail in rebates.... how is that not DESTROYING the carrier stores is beyond me.
The Pre will sell wonderfully, it may not do iPhone business, but then again it seems that iPhone has some of the dumbest droid customers around (have you seen the Simpson's episode based on the Apple customers... Hilarious an true!)
IF (and it is a HUGE IF) Best Buy gets it first (which I have been told by Sprint customer service that Sprint.com will have the Pre first THEN it will be a Best Buy Mobile exclusive THEN carrier stores and additional retailers can have it....
Your prediction for Pre availability sounds very likely. I can't wait to get my hands on one, at least to try it out and see if it lives up to the hype. I'm certainly impressed by what I've seen.
And yes, while carrier stores didn't use to be competition (they used to be a sort of partner almost), with Best Buy Mobile undercutting carrier prices so damn frequently and matching prices when they're not, it's definitely giving a huge boost to their mobile phone market share. It'd be nice if they could get their no-contract prices down a bit, but it's not a big deal, most Americans don't care too much about resigning contracts, they know they'll still have their mobile phone service for the next two years anyways, may as well *say* you will and get a big phone discount out of it.
And people like to hate on Best Buy a lot at Engadget. I don't blame them, Engadget readers aren't the sort of people who really require Best Buy's help in finding electronics or figuring out what options are available to customers, or what technology can do for them. And they're smart enough to find better deals online and take care of everything themselves. They like to assume that Best Buy, being a big company, likes to exploit people, but that's like the computer enthusiast saying it's a rip-off to charge $49.99 to install computer hardware while the average oblivious computer user thinks it's a great deal to have someone take care of it for you. Personally, I would never pay someone to set my computer up, not when I can build my own PCs. That's a waste of money for me, but I'm not going cry "exploitation" for companies that want to service those who aren't as technologically savvy as we are here.
So if Best Buy is getting it June 7th, is it a fair statement to say that the Sprint stores will get it before that? Last I heard there was a vacation hold for Sprint Store employees for the month of May. Perhaps a May release for Sprint stores and a June 7th release for Best Buy.
is this teh GSM version or the CDMA version? there is no point to purchase $1000 for unlocked CDMA Version!!
Sprint is a CDMA Carrier, the Pre is CDMA. The alleged $999 or whatever it will cost w/o contract, is all the R&D, etc that your paying for. I think we're too spoiled by subsidized phones. If Carriers didn't do these contractual discounts, 95% of the people out there would have the phones they give away for free... Which would actually cost under $2-300
um,... WHAT?! contact-free is 5 times more expensive?! Are these guys nuts? And I was thinking of selling my Xperia to go for a Pre... no way!
Lots of rumors, lots of leaks, and lots of speculation, but nowhere have I seen anything about whether or not this will be available for those of us with a SERO account...
is it true that the pre will not be available for all sprint service plans?
Isn't their WiMAX 4G technology GSM I dunno?
They really need to announce the release date and pricing of this phone. I just canceled my verizon service this weekend, effective 5/26.
UPDATE: My wife got a BB 8330 from sprint and I asked the guy when they will be taking pre-orders for the Ppre kiddingly and he in 2 weeks. He gave me his email i will get a call when they come in. He was pretty sure they would be selling them in 2 WEEKS!! SO get ready!
June 7...are they joking. I would think sometime in the middle of this month would be a good time to come out. Anything later, they're just setting themselves up for a big disappointment if apple got something up their sleeve. An Iphone with proven OS or a brand new phone with an unknown OS with unknown apps and god knows how many bugs it has when it does come out. How many iphone killer phones out there previously...that never succeed? Lost count. If palm don't make a dent in the iphone, it'll probably die and I can just purchase a pre in a couple of months for dirt cheap. I don't know if people will care about it then...that's just too late.
I hate this whole iPhone killer crap yeah it's competing but surprise surprise it's there job as a opposing company to compete with the *gasp* competitor! I can only guess it'll do better then BB's out their due impartially to hype which it has.it is also very possible it'll directly compete with the iPhone, but we'll have to wait and see for that one in the sales reports.
I find it interesting that so many people do not know the difference between a new line and an upgrade. How long have we had cellphones people? You do this thing every two years.
Ok, SO a new line means that you are NEW to the carrier. IE: I was just with ATT and now I'm out of contract, I think I'll go to Sprint and get the Palm Pre for $200. An upgrade means that you are almost out of your agreement and the carrier with let you renew your contract and you may get a new phone for a discount price. IE: I've been with Sprint for 22 months out of my 24 month contract, this means I'm eligible for an upgrade. I think I'll get the Palm Pre for $300. And no, just because you change your plan doesn't mean that you get to upgrade. Typically you have to be within 21-22 months of your 24 month contract. Unless it was a one year contract and so on. HOWEVER, Sprint has unleashed a premier customer program so, if you been a customer of Sprint for 10 years, have the Simply Everything Individual plan, or at least the Everything Message Share Family plan then you can get a new phone every year as long as you resign your contract. Although, unless your family has the Simply Everything Family Plan, only the primary line can qualify for a new phone every year. And if you were thinking about just changing your plan for a few months in order to get a new phone quicker, there are stipulations as far as how long you've had your new plan for ( I think either 3 or 6 months).
Also, Best Buy Mobile bases their pricing off of Sprint, so until we get a clear idea from them, its hard to say what the phone will cost. If we don't have a concrete release date on the phone, then we probably don't have a concrete price either. Mostly likely, and this is my guess, Best Buy Mobile will have the Pre at the same price as Sprint just with the instant rebate, at least for the first three months of it being on the market. Then around back to school time, it may or may not slightly drop in price.