Palm Pre on June 6th for $200: It's official!
By Thomas Ricker 
posted May 19th 2009 7:00AM
posted May 19th 2009 7:00AM
Note: Looking more info? Check out our giant Palm Pre hub!
posted May 19th 2009 7:00AM
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awesome
Second that.
Nothing about a Europe release?
Looking forward to some real competition for the iPhone - although $299? ouch.
*sigh* and yet we won't see it in Canada for at least another 3-4 months :(
Still exciting news, I can't wait to read the reviews.
Yea us Canadians want some Pre too :(
@XGM
Bell has the Pre in Canada - http://www.bell.ca
I'm going to wait until after WWDC upon which, the winner gets my money!
Yipppppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!
Poor Apple? More like poor palm!
The Pré is an amazing device, but it;s thunder will be stolen by Apple just 2 days later! What a pity!
@tj - haha you think THIS is over-hyped?
*cough*iPhone*cough*
@Derry Quinn The author was being sarcastic. He knows that this is risky of palm because the iPhone will be announced a few days later.
-Jesus boy
The difference is that the iphone is a device that is worthy of all the hype that surrounds it.
Unlike this piece of filth
Prediction: Apple leaks info about upcoming iPhone update on June 2 / 3 (probably background apps, integrated contacts, or another of the Pre features, and does so through back channels). Just a teaser image or small but interesting spec. Then, by two days before WWDC we're in full-on rumor mode, dampening the Pre launch to anyone considering it over the iPhone. WWDC arrives on the 8th, and while it's not as good as whatever Palm's offering, the damage has been done. Believe me: Apple's not going to sit that week out.
@tj Are you moving to Jobstown with the other drones to drink the Cupertino kool-aid when the time comes?
Not "Yippee" but instead "Huh? Are they NUTS!?".
$300 is the price to walk out the door - Engadget, for their own reasons - has chosen to make it seem cheaper.
That's not "Fat Middle" pricing.
Like Apple when they said they cut the price in half but really just moved the cost to the plan and it ended up costing more than the original?
I bought the Instinct with a "$100 MIR" but I didn't have to do it, they just gave me the phone for the $100 off.
There's no deceptive reporting here unless they didn't mention it was with a MIR...which they did.
i can understand fanboy bashing, but i dont think the iphone was "overhyped". thats just being an anti-apple-fanboy and going too far in the other direction. whats you actual reason for it being overhyped?
Not really interested in this or the iPhone at the moment. Still, you never know...
"Prediction: Apple leaks info about upcoming iPhone update on June 2 / 3 (probably background apps, integrated contacts, or another of the Pre features, and does so through back channels). Just a teaser image or small but interesting spec. Then, by two days before WWDC we're in full-on rumor mode, dampening the Pre launch to anyone considering it over the iPhone. WWDC arrives on the 8th, and while it's not as good as whatever Palm's offering, the damage has been done. Believe me: Apple's not going to sit that week out."
Better predictions:
Now that there is a date, the gadget blogs, and iTrolls will flood the channel with whatever made up iPhone rumor they can get their hands on. They will also flood boards with made up stories with supposed "issues" wit the Pre. Now that they have a target, they can work the machine for Apple a bit better.
Apple will have people posting/bashing the Pre, but they will not be feeding stuff to blogs. They work well enough for Apple on their own.
Look for muted coverage of the launch from this site and others. They will act as if the Pre launch is just soooo getting in the way of Apple's big party, which they will feel is so much more important.
And DO NOT FORGET the expected hit piece/review from Engadget. They WILL give the Pre a bad review or they will give whatever device Apple has an over the top A+++++ review if they dont feel they can get away with a bash piece on the Pre.
I dont need a crappy gaming device like the iphone. I need a life management device like the pre.
i like how Derry Quinn put an accent over the e in Pre. not only pretentious, but wrong.
Just a tidbit of info for the people complaining about the MIR, RadioShack does not do MIR any more for Sprint, they are now all instant rebates. So the Pre will be $199 out the door.
HTC touch pro 2 FTW!
How about we wait to compare it to the iPhone when it's out and being used by people. It looks like a damn nice phone, but I have no idea if it's better or worse than my iPhone without trying it. I also don't see anyone around here having a basis for their opinions on it. Both sides of the iPhone love/hate fest need to STFU and relax a bit.
Here's a thought...when I am trying to not wake up in the morning, I can roll over and open one eye and with my Treo 755p, with one hand I can hit the right buttons and check my overnight e-mail or check Engadget with virtually no effort. I don't even have to look, I do it by feel. I think it would be too much trouble with the Pre. I would be completely satisfied with my 755p if it only had wifi. And I like my Sero plan, not available with the Pre.
Its amazing to see the impact Engadget's open letter from 2 years ago had on Palm! http://www.engadget.com/2007/08/21/dear-palm-its-time-for-an-intervention/ Palm have implemented most of the suggested changes...
www.sprintshops.com has the Pre for $49.99 for new line of service, $179.99 for upgrade (22mo before contract's up). I'm getting it from them. Screw $199.99, you can't beat $50.
Guys ignore the trolls... Most of them are anti-apple idiots trying to make Apple fans look like morons..
Apple fans don't need any help to look like morons.
i'm so confused, did everyone forget that the iphone was $600 when it first came out?! $200 for this phone is not bad at all. i am pretty sure i paid more than that for my old blackberry pearl when it first came out.
@wako - you want to understand? Easy.
They're not Apple fans, they are Apple haters. They are using a variation on the classic Straw Man method of attacking, not your actual opponent or their opinions, but a distorted and wrong view of your opponent or their opinions.
Which is sad, but not as sad as all these gullible people who are so willing to believe that these obvious caricatures are genuine.
Pretty horrible, hey? The staff should have put a stop to this at the start but it is too late now, the haters have achieved their objective and many now have swallowed wholesale this ridiculous notion that all pro-Apple people are trolls.
Welcome to the Engadget comments section. Critical thinking and scepticism are not necessary. Enjoy your stay in unreality.
From the previews on videos and what Palm has been saying, the software that they plan to release with this phone is pretty impressive and seem to be aiming more that the Blackberry than iPhone market. I am definitely considering the Pre.
the only thing that it seems like no one has said yet is the cool feature of if you decline the end user agreement during activation the device will tell you to return it and will "brick". Oh yeah and I have got to use it VERY Responsive!! I can promise it will be better than that damn Instinct, now that was a phone that was overhyped.
Woo! Finally!
Bye Bye Verizon, Hello Pre :)
Exactly! My VZW plan runs out on June 13th. Not only can I get a much cooler phone than the Moto Q I currently have but I'll also be saving around 110 a month on the plan alone. I just hope there's no issue with supply a week after the release.
My VZW contract is up July 7th. I figure that gives fellow geeks a month to tear the Pre down and figure out how it works in real life.
Either way, I'll probably make the switch. My wallet and VZW are officially fighting and Sprint will likely come in to save the day.
Um...it's coming to Verizon in 3 to 6 months...You can't wait that long?
im on sprint now ... you are in for a bad nightmare .. and hours on hold with customer service
hooray!
OMG i tought i was gonna be the first commenter lol
sweeeeeeet!
But then comes the question, when will it be launched in the UK?
Exactly. I need to get my GSM-Pre lovin' on.
+1 for uk release...
Right with ya there man, I just hope the European model had support for US 3G frequences so I can use it on at&t.
iPhone FTW
+1
-1, for both.