The exact duration and wording of Sprint's exclusivity agreement with Palm for the Pre has everyone wondering -- perhaps no one more than the carrier's competitors, who are blatantly champing at the bit to steal Sprint's thunder and launch new Palm hardware of their own. Sprint had already
officially refuted Verizon's claim that it'd get its own Pre in "about six months" by saying that the deal lasted through 2009, but now, none other than Sprint CEO Dan Hesse is taking a swing at his archrival, saying Verizon needs to "check its facts" over the deal. The dude was clearly choosing his words carefully and refused to comment on exactly how long the company would have a lock on the Pre, but he "can tell [us] it's not six months." That could mean it's three, seven, nine, or 48 -- we really don't know -- but either way, Sprint's real challenge here is that it probably doesn't have webOS exclusivity, which means its competitors should be free to launch
other Palm designs whenever they like.
[Image via
I Can Has Cheezburger?]
posted Jun 5th 2009 11:23AM
1
Wow, that's the laziest "first" I've ever seen.
Ban Hammer please o please!!!
Did you get a lot of coloring books as a kid? ^
Go Dan go Dan Go Dan.. now freakn get to work on producing more Pre's. Stop flapping your gum's.. Tomorrow im walking into no more then 2 Bestbuys and i better have a Pre in my hand by 10am or theyll be hell to pay..
I hate rebates so im staying away from Sprint stores unless i can get a 2nd tier rep to waive the $100 rebate.
This probably has a lot to do with Pogue's video review of the Pre on nytimes.com and his apparent hard-on for verizon.
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/06/04/technology/personaltech/1194840704535/palm-pre-obsession.html?scp=1&sq=pogue&st=cse
Damn... I would NOT want to be with the Sprint guys when they see that video.
Dan Hesse always seems like a level headed guy on the conference calls, but I'd imagine he'd lay the smack down on Pogue for this one.
And while I still think David Pogue is a big douche, that video is pretty funny.
I need to start watching Hannah Montana, seems like a REALLY funny show.
He's right about Sprint service at least.
That picture is epic
there's a lolcat for every situation
I tried to prove you wrong, but I found a picture for my search
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/pictures/view/482168/
darnit.
I think Sprint is just mad that there not 'America's largest and most reliable network' and I think Verizon's just jealous that Sprint doesn't cripple their phones.
u kno I really wish that Verizon would buy Sprint and absorb in Sprint's idea of "using a CDMA Network WITHOUT CRIPPLING OUR PHONES"
well thats never goin to happen, vz will never stop crippling phones. what we need is for sprint to buy verizon, then we get the better phones/OSes with the verizon network
I'm not an Economist or anything, but I'm pretty sure that in order for one company to buy another, the company doing the buying needs to be worth more than the company being bought.
So, clearly that would rule out the possibility of Sprint buying Verizon.
haha ya i kno. just some wishful thinking on my part ^_^
I wonder if the Palm Pre has the force roaming mode that the Palm OS Treo's all had. Which basically let you go on Verizon whenever Sprint coverage was spotty. Of course it can't be used all the time since Sprint gets rather annoyed (roaming to other networks is included in their plans but you can't go over half of your minutes or 800, whichever is lower), but since I don't really have to roam all that often it really made up for the places where I had really bad Sprint coverage.
@ asleeponatwinbed
smaller companies buying big ones happen all the time. In fact, a more famous recent example would be porsche vs volkswagen.
that was almost a shoo-in, but the financial crisis caused porsche to overload in debt. Oh the agonies!
I demand MOAR LOLCats as pictures for engadget articles!!!
I agree.... it makes the articles seem less slanted...
I really hate these pictures.
Seriously? I always thought that the people who liked these were the people who use "r" instead of "are" and "u" instead of "you" and I can't stand those people.
lolcats are for anyone who doesn't take things too seriously.
@Jonathan, r u serious?
Sorry, couldn't resist.
"Sprint had already officially refuted Verizon's claim that it'd get its own Pre in "about six months" by saying that the deal lasted through 2009..."
Errr....it's June. "through 2009" is more or less "about six months".
Indeed. Throught 2009 is about 7 months, which isn't '6 months'.
My guess? VZW was telling the truth. There's no way a struggling company like Palm would want to lock itself down to one network for an extended period of time.
A different reporting of the same comment(s):
>>> "...Hesse, however, told technology website CNET News on Friday that Sprint's exclusive
>>> U.S. deal to sell Pre went beyond the end of 2009...
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10258187-94.html?part=rss&tag=feed&subj=Crave
@Aru
Exactly. My guess is January 2010. Which is 'about 6 months' by a very, very broad definition of 6 months.
@Freakin
That could mean 12:00:01 1/1/2010. Really, he's going to say anything he can to prevent people from waiting for the Pre on other networks.
It's clear that Verizon/ATT will have it in January 2010 and the "not in 6 months" is just semantics relating to the fact that it's more like 7.
The question is, why is nobody just outright saying the date? There must be NDAs and such surrounding this, which is why they're playing with the language rather than just telling the truth.
I'd like to point to the fact that the correct wording of the expression Engadget is trying to use is "chomping at the bit", not "champing".
This debate has been going on ad nauseam -- both are considered acceptable.
is it just me, or do more and more articles these days have really shotty grammar and spelling errors..
@marky-b: Again, it's not an error.
"shoddy"
@Andre: i think marky-b was trying to make a point.. like how sometimes a word is spelled one way and pronounced another.. like how champ is spelled with an a and pronounced with an o
Do you know the emails for the CEO of Verizon??
i have been with sprint FOREVER and really cant justify ever leaving them since the discounts i've gotten through the retention dept have accumulated to the point of absurdity (4, yes 4, lines of service, all the extras including their blackberry internet service, navagation, etc.... for $120/mo) so i'm VERY much looking forward to the pre replacing my curve 8330, and VZW getting in in 6 months or not in not way impacted me, however I've started to like this new CEO because a. he does his own commercials and b. apparently he isn't going to stand for people treating sprint like some punk red headed step child anymore
my stepsister has red hair.. bad news.
@ garynuman
I too have a sweet deal thanks to Sprint's retention department...4 lines, just under $100 monthly, two on them are unlimited aircards. But how are you going to get them to put a Palm Pre on anything less that an Everything plan?
i totally agree. price is going to keep me at Sprint aslong as i have the good service i do. Regardless of how cool the other carriers phones are. I REFUSE to pay almost $100/month on AT&T when Sprint gives it to me for $55.. Yeah my discounts are that good and im not even a SERO customer.
Random FYI: It's "chomping at the bit" not "champing at the bit".
See above.
no, it's pronounced like 'chomp' but spelled like 'champ'
No it isn't
Heh, I love Sprint and despite the prevailing attitude by the teenyboppers on here... they're a great company and have done a complete 180 in the last number of years.
After reading some of the reviews and all the shots taken at Sprint I have to wonder if Sprint service sucks everywhere other than Texas. I find the service, coverage, voice quality to be better than with my AT&T phone. The customer service has definately improved but I hardly ever call anyway cause I have no problems or issues to bring to CS.
I am quite surprised at the bashing even up to the level of ppl who are reviewing the phone.
Sprint CEO - Youz not gettin diz fone.
Verizon CEO - Iz getting dat fone.
Sprint CEO - NO YOUZ NOT.
Verizon CEO - Whyz not.
Sprint CEO - Youz got Storm.
Verizon CEO - But.....Storm suckz.
AT&T CEO - Heyz. Wanna seez the new iPhone?
Verizon & Sprint CEO - Get da fuckz outa here.
@ dave the only difference between my current plan and the everything plan is that i have a set amount of minutes, which i never even come close to using....other than that all the other features are the same as the everything, eg. unlimited data, etc... so it shouldnt be an issue with the pre, i have a bb 8330 on it right now
@garynuman
Good luck getting the Palm Pre on that plan. Sounds like we're in a similar situation and I think you're going to run into a road block trying to add the Pre to your existing plan. Sprint did the same thing with the Samsung Instinct requiring specific plans but that didn't bother me in the least then because the Instinct wasn't even a smart phone. You'll have to post another response after the launch and let us no how your luck was. If you get denied on the Pre you might want to consider the HTC Pro2 which Sprint is rolling out in the next few weeks.
Oh piss off with all the cat pictures.
This is the cat internet. If you're one of those disgusting dog people, you'll have to use a different internet.
But...it's Caturday!!
I get a kick out of all of the Verizon fan boys here. Most of you probably switched because of the storm and realized how much it sucks. And as far as being a bigger better network, I agree for a while Sprint CS was bad, but come on, I rarely ever have to call them now. The CS they have available of the webchat always fixes any issues within 15 minutes of starting the chat. As for network, Sprint has been winning most of the call Quality Awards in the Eastern Half of the US.
Anyways, Sprint took a gamble on the Pre, not ATT, not Verizon. They only wanted in once the Pre became a hyped up phone. However Sprint was not stupid and probably have the ability to extend the exclusivity based on how well it sells. Also I would imagine that they have a 1 year agreement at least because 7 months doesnt make sense (June - Jan 1st 10).
>> "I get a kick out of all of the Verizon fan boys here. Most of you probably switched because of the storm and realized how much it sucks."
Switched TO Verizon?
There were more people who switched TO at&t for the iPhone, than people who switched to Verizon for the Storm. Verizon already has a shit-ton of customers.
The Verizon "fanboys" are just upset that Verizon is now the largest network, in both customers and coverage, but doesn't have any good phones. Although, I have a Verizon Blackberry Curve and it's fine for me... EVDO is fast! and coverage everywhere I need to go.
Hell yeah D Hesse!
Just remember, Verizon never said it was getting "the Pre" in 6 months, it said, and I quote, "Over the next six months or so you will see devices like Palm Pre..."
First, we see an indication that this will be going on, not AFTER 6 months has passed, but WITHIN a 6 month period of time. Second, the statement leaves open the very real possibility of bring not the Pre itself, but "devices like Palm Pre". This very well could be an indication of the Eos or other Palm devices (with webOS). How anyone derived from that statement that as a mater of fact, Verizon was getting THE Pre in exactly 6 months, I cannot tell. Shoddy journalism at best...
Maybe I'm reading too much into the syntax. But then again, that's how statements like that can be made without getting in trouble, right? Right?
@dave
i dealt with this last time i upgraded (to said Blackberry) which wouldn't work on my plan at the time, after they told me i couldn't have the BB on my current plan (i already had unlimited data!) and wouldn't i just love a palm cento? being a man with man sized fingers the centro was unusable so i said meh, if i have to pay $30/month more just for Blackberry internet service i'll just switch to ATT for an iphone and take the 3 other lines on my plan with me.......within minutes i had what i wanted with the price of my monthly bill remaining the same, my point being their plan architecture is downright stupid sometimes, and that if you call them and are willing to put in the work of getting yourself transferred to someone helpful (i.e. when they say there isn't anything they can do for you ask to cancel your contract) sprint can be a very easy company to deal with...then again my account with them is in the 12 year old range now so your mileage may vary....
The way I read it was devices like the Palm Pre and Blackberry storm 2. As in like these 2 devices, not similar devices.
I guess it leaves it up to the readers inturpretation.
Hesse should have used more colorful words. I really miss the "CE Oh-No he Didn't" on Engadget.
Sweetest deal ever: $15/mo for 1500 min, unlimited messaging and data! Yup, read it and weep. Five years ago I worked in Staples and got a 3rd-party employee plan through Sprint and still have it to this day (even though I went through college, grad school and now have an oh-so-exciting corporate job).
the pre may be exclusive, but webOS sure isnt. and lets be honest, that what we all really care about.
After my time with the Instinct and Sprint's epic failure since, I think it's safe to assume that Dan Hess is a fucking idiot! Sprint is a sinking ship.
I'd love to see Sprint go under, but I'm hoping that the Pre will be a turning point for Palm and bring them back from that near death experience of the last couple of years.
I did not know "champ" was a verb. I learned something new today. And I'm actually being serious. I had to look up the word, but it is indeed a verb.