Best Buy Mobile to skip rebate, sell Palm Pre for $199.99 outright
Best Buy may not be launching the Pre exclusively, but it's probably the place to go if you're scouting one come June 6th. Why? Pretty simple, really -- you'll leave the joint with an extra Benjamin in your purse. You see, those who waltz into a Sprint store will be forced to pay $299.99 up front (with a two-year contract) and wait eons for a $100 mail-in rebate to return. Over at Best Buy Mobile, you'll pay $199.99 free and clear, sign your contract and proceed to send us loads of personal hands-on shots. Be honest -- which scenario sounds superior to you?
[Via Brighthand]
[Via Brighthand]

























Fuck off iTroll!
I just got some good hands-on time with Pre in NYC, smaller unit than I thought it was, OS worked well. I might go for this after initial rollout to see if there are any major problems/issues (aka Storm).
Was this experience in a store or do you have connections? I ask because my local store told me "no store will be putting the demos out until the day they can sell the phone"
If your a premier customer you can walk into the store on the 5th and get the phone early.
What do I have to do to get the Sprint Store to accept this. When I call the Sprint Store here in town, they haven't heard of this and when I login to my account online it doesn't say anything about getting it a day early. I am a Premier Customer. I know with the Instinct I could print something off online but, nothing yet for the Palm Pre. Please help me find what I am missing. I really want to get my Palm Pre a day early.
lol, best bu
I live in Italy.
So, test it and let me choose between a Palm Pre or an iPhone $whateverversionisgoingtobe whenever they'll be sold in here.
No connections, it wasnt a demo or anything - I was in looking for a charger and I saw two employees playing with it and sort of 'charmed' my way into their discussion etc. It really looks bigger in the pix than in reality, and seemed to weigh about the same as my curve that I lost a few months ago.
It's nice that you don't have to do a rebate - but it only really saves you $6.44...
And 5 months.
Anyone else have the Sprint Pre advert in the upper right corner of this page with the "countdown" to June 6? it says 46 days, 11 hours. Strange.
I see it too...lol.. if you click on it the link has 16 days... weird.
make with GSM release date already Palm
Are we talking about the stand alone Best Buy Mobiles or the area in the Best Buy where they have cell phones??
The first is called SAS (Stand Alone Store) and the latter is SWAS (Store Within A Store). Both should have the same deal.
Yow, impresive.
I like to wait for the check to come with rebates. It's very exciting!
So... you're getting a prebate for shopping at Best Buy?
Hey I tipped you guys on this story and I didn't get a thanks :(
Is it just me, or does this device look really ugly and bulbous, like they designed it, and realized it wasn't quite big enough to fit all its innards in, so inflated it a little?
I thought my old treo680 looked a lot more business-like. Damn I miss that thing.
Where are people getting the idea that Premier customers can get the phone a day early? I am a Sprint Premier customer and haven't heard anything about this. I even called and talked to customer care, which told me that at this time there are no plans to offer the phone to Premier customers early.
I really want to get the Palm Pre and if I can get it a day early without having to wait in line, I will pay the $100 more up front and do the mail in rebate. Please tell me where to find this information, so I am prepared when I go to the Sprint Store on Friday, June 5th to get my phone and am not laughed at by the sales rep.
I just had an online chat with the Sprint people. I'm a current Sprint customer but am off contract. The best price I can get is $300. That's a $150 upgrade credit off the $550 purchase price plus the $100 rebate. I've read (but not confirmed) that upgrades are more valuable if you've had the same phone for 22 months. I've only had mine for 15 though.
That kind of spelling happens when you're posting comments on an iphone.
I've had my $150 upgrade credit since October of last year... just waiting for a cool phone from Sprint. I thought it was going to be something Android based until I saw the Pre in January. So it looks like I still have to deal with the chuckle-heads at the Sprint store if I want to use my credit. I will only have to shell out $150 up front, and eventually get $100 back, so I guess it's worth it.
But MAN do I hate dealing with Sprint store employees! The last two times I wanted a popular phone (Centro, and Instinct), they tried pulling the "oh, we just ran out", thing... so they can hoard the phones for "new" customers, instead of existing customers like me. I called their bluff last time though. When they told me (on the opening weekend) that they were out of Instincts... I told them that was fine. But told them that I was going to stay in the store until someone else came in looking for one, and see if they were still out. They gave me the run around for a few minutes but somehow managed to "find" a "store demo unit" for me (which happened to still be sealed in the box). LMAO! Idiots...
Hahaha...that's hilarious. The first thing I'm going to do when I get in the store is ask if they got the Pre. If they do then I'll tell them that I'm upgrading. Don't want any of that bullshit. But what do you mean when you say you got 150 upgrade credit? and you will only have to pay 150 and you'll eventually get 100 back. Which means the phone will cost you 50 out of pocket. I'm not sure if I understand that.
Tempting, but I have a very good Sprint deal now, I'll still go to the Sprint store just to get confirmation that my rate won't change with a new contract. That way, if it does change, I'll have an employee name to lay the blame on.
I work @ BBY Mobile and we have never done MIRs, and from what i hear the touchstone charging accessory for the Pre will be $49.99 instead of $79.99 in our stores when the Pre launches.
Rebates suck
That bodes well for Best Buy Mobile. Not so much for the others.
Too bad the Pre is a Sprint exclusive- Sprint's network is EONS behind everyone else in the midwest, specifically Iowa. They cover the interstates and that's it, everyone else has solid coverage throughout the entire state.
Who cares still won't break iPhone zero to million record in 72 hours.
Set on July 11 2009 when gas was $4.65 gal in California .
Anything less than that is a failed iphnekiller.
Agree ?
Test
Anything under a million is a fail or overhype in 1 week that is.
Wow. This may be the first time I actually enjoy shopping at Best Buy.
This is Exactly how I got my Touch Pro
please no forced internet plan... please no forced inter...
You know, I dont care anymore about what the iPhone has or the Pre won't have. Apple isnt getting another red cent from me for all the f'ing $$$ I spent on their POS ipods over the years. Go Palm go!
Mail-In rebates suck - well done Best Buy for doing something sensible.
Is the palm pre going to require an everything plan?
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=9337595&st=palm&type=product&id=1218087261903
its said $849.99 as of May 21st
bestbuy(dot)com/site/olspage(dot)jsp?skuId=9337595&st=palm&type=product&id=1218087261903
its says $849.99 as of May 21st
does anybody happen to know what the device will cost without the 2yr contract agreement?