Palm Pre going for a nice, round $100 on contract at Amazon
By Chris Ziegler 
posted Sep 25th 2009 3:51AM
posted Sep 25th 2009 3:51AM
[Via Gear Diary and everythingpre]
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$99.99...
If any one interested in N900
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002OB49SW/ref=s9_simz_gw_s0_p107_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1ZWSX6YSF4FKDF1SC9QJ&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846
Price: $582.99 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
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Has anyone ever purchased a phone/wireless contract through Amazon before? I'm just curious if I'll still get to apply my corporate discount on the contract, or if I lose out on that to get the $99 deal.
you get a cardboard box with "palm pre" written on it.
The Pre is shaping up to be perhaps one of the best deals in computing history. At least in handheld computing.
Will this work w/ SERO plan?
@nutjob
I'm confused, no where does it say the phone is $100 dollars.
it does say 100 dollars on contract
100 (with new service plan)
99.99*
*with 2 year agreement
If your into only reading big bold numbers then yes, the phone is falsely advertising it's price. But everywhere that I see it describes the price of the phone and contract. Marketing's a bitch, but they're damn good with their fine print, try reading it and not getting screwed.
My my, how quickly the Pre price has fallen.
No reason to fall, especially if Palm is taking the hit on it, unless the Pre's percentage of total smart phone sales is not exactly close to that 810K sold last quarter.
Desperation is in the air.
Probably one last push to get as many consumers as possible before launching the App Catalog.
Just wait until they redact it because of an error.
I wouldn't be so sure, Newegg has already had it at $130 for awhile now, while Amazon has been stuck at $200. I'm sure they didn't have the drop to $150 right away due to negotiations.
i will have to think about this long and hard. i was looking into sprint to save on the monthly fees that AT&T are rapen me with. Also the palm pre looks to have a smooth OS with few hick ups between app selection. i know the battery life isn't that great, but so isn't my i3G.
thanks for the info eng :)
P.S
the pixi... I remember from anther article it was the poor man's pre. is this true or should i look into it more?
How can the phone "cost $100" when you're obliged to take up a contract, which costs? It costs much more than $100, but I suppose most people aren't sophisticated enough to work out the actual cost.
...or maybe most people are sophisticated enough to already know that, and realize that monthly charges are just part of today's mobile phone costs, like gasoline is for automobiles? I mean really, guy...
Unfortunately, that's how it is on all carriers (in the US at least) at this point. However, I must say cost-wise Sprint really has done an amazing job, especially with the recent "all carriers mobile included" in all the plans the Pre works on. I pay my $69 - 15% Discount through work and get all my data/mms/texts/calls (my 450 minutes far, far exceeds the amount of landline calls I make). T-Mobile and Sprint seem to be the only ones that aren't trying to nickle and dime everyone to death. If the Pre were on AT&T or Verizon I'd agree since to have the same type of setup with the iPhone/Storm/etc. is probably close to double what I pay for the same. Plus, everyone else does that 22 month phone thing before you can get the discount upgrade rate for a new phone, the Sprint plans for Pre are all "Premier" customers so you get that phone discount every 12 months.
It's ashame really, Sprint has gotten a pretty bad rap and even with their outstanding price point and customer service (yea, they definitely did a 180 in that department and made it pretty decent) people still seem to not be interested in them. Wow, I apologize for the amount of leg humping I appear to have just done for Sprint, but I really am stunned that they still have the worst perspective when I have very few negatives to say.
Actually the phone costs$100. With a 2 year service agreement. Which means you are paying for the service, not the phone,
And hey presto, someone posts and proves my point. Does your gas station sell you the car at a discount then jack up the price of gas? Do you buy your gas from your car dealer? The cost of the phone is added to the monthly charge, you're still paying it, it's just not obvious, and thus my comment.
@nutjob. What good is phone without service?
I mean, if you really want to get sophisticated (I know I'm losing at least half of you here), there is also the opportunity cost of the contract. While you're bound to whatever you're paying the phone company for whatever service, other companies are coming out with better, cheaper plans, which you can't take advantage of.
@edu3000, you can actually buy service from anyone if you have an unlocked phone, and you haven't already bound yourself to paying someone for it for 2 years.
@nutjob, your pretty sophisticated huh. So what would you do, pay $499 for the phone and not sign a contract. you can buy this phone for $100. and if other companies are coming out with better plans, which they aren't. then pay the etf and you still come out better.
Nutjob: I'm with you, but I'm guessing you're not from America.
I've also got annoyed with Engadget continually posting the fake 'with a 2 year contract' prices. I think the reason is that in America none of the networks do SIM-only contracts. For instance, in the UK you can get a contract roughly equivalent to 300 minutes/1000 texts for $15/month if you already have a phone. I'm guessing you can't do that in the US - the carriers have successfully fooled people (e.g. edu3000) into thinking that they really are subsidizing the phone, rather than just moving its cost into the contract.
Glad I don't have to shop for phones in the US anyway!
Last time I checked the service plans are exactly the same if you buy a phone or not. Some people like Sprint. For those people it makes perfect sense to pay a lot less for a phone and contract they would buy and stick with for 2 years regardless.
Beyond that Americans simply realize this is the way cell companies do business. If you don't want to get locked into a contract pay top dollar for the phone. Otherwise just deal with it.
It's not like the cell companies hold a gun to your head and say "sign up and buy our phone or else".
@edu3000, Let me put this in real simple terms for you: if I could buy this phone for $100, I would be able to buy it with just $100 in my name and in my pocket, but I can't, I need to keep paying.
@Anthony, that just means if you don't go with a contract you pay more. It's all pretty anti-competitive. But there are other options. You can get discounted GSM handsets online. I already have a GSM handset and last time I was living in the US I got AT&T $100 pre-paid card (lasts 12 months) which was enough for me. CDMA phones are inherently more restrictive (no SIM).
It's interesting to note that in Australia, where GSM is standard and the market is intensely competitive, you still get contract plans but they explicitly add the cost of replaying the phone to the plan (eg extra $18 per month over 24 months), which goes down if you get a more expensive plan or cheaper phone.
I think Nutjob has a point.
What's funny to me is how people get all hyped over $50 less for a phone, when they have to pay $70 a month for the next two years...
(I'm just guessing that's the plan you have to take, based on what another poster wrote.)
It's all good if you need that kind of plan in the first place, but where I live an average person is happy with a $20 plan. So for that average person $70 a month for two years would be way more expensive than the initial $100 or $150.
Bottom line: when you mention the price of a phone on contract make sure you mention the price of the monthly plan as well.
You fail for three reasons:
(1) Sprint service plans cost the same whether you buy a subsidized phone or an unsubsidized phone, so you really are comparing apples to apples when you compare the price of a subsidized Pre to an unsubsidized Pre. The only difference is you are locked into a 2-year contract... but as long as you are going to have a mobile phone for two years anyway (which everyone is), you're just being locked into a contract to do something you'd be doing anyway.
(2) The cost of the service plan is to pay for the service, not the phone. Yes, it is slightly higher than it would need to be if everyone bought their phones unsubsidized, but for the most part carrier subsidization of phones is a loss leader for their real money makers, the service plans.
(3) (and most importantly) you're a pretentious douche who needs to STFU
Mikey you can't read. I said the phone doesn't cost $100, and it doesn't. It's marketing drivel and people who are none too bright believe it, then they make up these stupid points and call people names because they know I'm right. The phone company isn't paying for the phone, you are, and you think you're not. It just makes you look foolish trying to argue that you aren't.
@Everyone, -Nutjob
Didn't you read the sign? "Please do not feed the trolls."
@Nutjob
It never helps your argument when you ridicule the intelligence of your entire audience, as demonstrated by your thorough down-ranking.
I can't do it chris. I just can't. I can't buy anything from the
company that steals USB vendor ID. My grandpa won't let
me do it.
If it came up for sale for 100 in a store somewhere up here in Canada that would probrably do it for me.
its probably in preparation for the Hero's arrival
Only problem its still with sprint...
Whats your choices? ATT is terrible, Iphone users are screaming about it http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/biztech/09/22/cnet.iphone.att.coverage/index.html , Tmobile has the worst phone service right now, Verizon I heard is great but their phones suck. I have had no problems in my area w/Sprint. (NY)
Yeah, god forbid you go to a carrier with one of the best 3G networks and the cheapest plans. That would be dumb.
I paid $90 for mine, at Best Buy. Granted it took some work.
Bought it for $200 from Best Buy. A few days later found the pre on a Wallmart-branded LetsTalk.com wireless store for $100. I printed it out and brought it to the Best Buy; they did their price-match guarantee and refunded me 110% of the difference which was $110. So $90 dollars for a Pre. Done and done.
Nice.
are you happy with your choice? the service and the phone?
or is it a "I can live with some of the faults." kinda feeling?
or do you hate the phone and the service?
@Husher - I do not regret it at all. The Pre is brilliant. I had the Samsung Instinct before and I cannot even begin to explain how great the Pre is in comparison.
A bit of disclosure though: I am an engineer and therefor a "power user" who has no trouble diving into and learning new technology. My cousin who is a beautician and therefore not very into techie things. She is not very fond of the Pre; she finds it confusing and the screen too responsive (lots of false clicks) but she is sticking with it because the scheduler and appointment calendar on it is 2nd to none.
Sounds good. right now it's just a choice for me to whether or not give at&t 93$ for anther month with them, or start a new contract with the palm pre.
Just release a friggin GSM version!
Really random question, and maybe not the best place to posit this, but does anyone know if CDMA phones (specifically the Pre) can be unlocked for use in other CDMA countries (specifically South Korea)? I'm moving back in 3 weeks and since I'll have to buy a phone at unsubsidized prices anyway, I figure that I'll pay a premium on a phone that I know meets my needs.
techincally they don't even need to be unlocked. A CDMA carrier can activate that phones MUID and stuff on their own network and (presumably, not always the case) it should work just fine. I know of only a few cases of people bringing certain Sprint phones to verizon and having verizon just active them; but it's always been a Treo or some kind.
The only thing that could hold you back with the Pre is that it must have a data connection already when you first turn it on so that you can sign in to or create your Palm profile. This could present a problem for you.
I used a CDMA blackberry through Verizon in Brazil, I live in the US, and had no problems in the areas that had CDMA infrastructure. Brazil has both, like the US. I think I had to add a $5 piece to my plan, but other than that, there were no issues. Don't know if the same holds true in S Korea.
You overpaid, son.
How well the Pre is doing all depends on perspective, of course. Compared to sales of the Treo, the Pre has been an enormous success - and, unless you completely ignore Palm's statement that they were not expecting iPhone sales numbers, that would be a reasonable conclusion. If the comparison point is the iPhone, then clearly the Pre is going to die no matter what price Palm sells it for. That said, I tend to think the Pre is not doing as well as Palm may have hoped for, it is certainly a device (provided they release new versions) that will keep the company alive for some time to come.
desktop computer accessories
That price sure keeps dropping, huh?
Hmmm...I wonder why Engadget has not mentioned the Verizon Pre news/rumor?
Maybe there's a reason the price keeps dropping.
@ Freakin ljit - Or maybe you should rethink your comment and understand that this was reported the "the street." Which means 1 of 3 things.
1. Someone is trying to manipulate the stock price.
2. Someone is trying to put pressure on Palm during negotiations.
3. It's the truth.
1 and 2 are the more plausible scenarios considering the nonsense that's been going on with PALM's stock in the last 3 days.
More than likely, there's a game being played here by someone in the Verizon camp.
Without getting into (illegal) conspiracy stories, it is important to add that a proven-false story that TheStreet..com is sticking with at the time of this post the next day would pretty much ruin TheStreet.com's reputation (or any reputation it currently has...lol!).
It's still interesting that Engadget hasn't had a peep about it - that's REALLY strange for a blog that overtly said they have no financial interest in any reported-on stock - due to history we know Engadget didn't report it due to vague sources, right?
This makes that $249 Instinct "HD" seem even more crazy.
firesale
I'll buy Palm Pre only when Palm does something constructive with iTunes sycing. I don't want to be left out in the cold. All my music is in iTunes.
I'm curious about this. If you don't upgrade iTunes, your Pre sync should still work right? Honestly the new features in iTunes really aren't worth the upgrade anyway.
3 easy steps to get your music loaded.
1. plug the pre into the computer with the provided usb cable. computer recognizes the phone as a usb drive
2. dump your music into the usb drive.
3. enjoy. easily make ringtones or alarms from any of your audio files. drag pictures in too to make wallpapers or whatever.
that wasnt so hard was it? why Palm is messing with iTunes is beyond my comprehension.
@darkstar:
I despise iTunes as much as the next guy, but you have to admit that iTunes users make up a huge demographic that the Pre is targeting. So, they have to try to deal with this.
As to WHY so many people use iTunes voluntarily? I'm with you...it is totally beyond me.
@darkstar: And how do you then handle playlists, especially more advanced ones? This is what I really hate about not having a real Pre media manager: You cannot create playlists etc without using iTunes, at least if you have more than a handful of songs.
The Blackberry application which synchs the iTunes playlists is perfectly fine, but Pre has nothing if you don't use iTunes.
You have to want a Pre for this to be a good deal.
Must resist .... must wait until Oct 6th! :)
Is there any way to take advantage of this if I'm an existing Sprint customer currently out of contract?
Yeah just sign up for another two years. Get it for $99
Anyone know if it is possible to order from Amazon and then switch to the Employee Plus Referral plans? Ordering from Amazon is significantly cheaper up front.
I meant Everything Plus. The new SERO.
Yea, I'm curious about this also.
Found this link and it appears that you can't. http://mcguireslaw.com/2009/07/15/psst-lower-priced-everything-plus-plans/ The comment saying you can't is down towards the end.
I just talked to a Sprint rep on the phone regarding this situation. She said you cannot switch existing service, so going through the Amazon route looks like a no-go if you want the Everything Plus plans.
Why are we despising itunes? I am not a big fan or anything but what is so bad about it that people "despise" it???
anyone know if a cmda phone like the pre will work on the virgin mobile network? I'm currently a virgin mobile customer but was originally with Helio, which was bought out. I believe virgin mobile was also bought out by sprint. Either way I know that my service uses sprint towers. Anybody know if I just buy a phone without a contract if I can activate it? I don't want to lose my service plan which is extremely cheap so I'm hoping there is a way.....thanks
Also, I'm not a pre-paying customer. I'm on a regular contract because I was originally with Helio and their all-in plans..
the analogy that this is like buying a car and having to put gas in it is weak if one looks at the ratio of costs.
No one buys a car for $20k and expects to spend $15k a month to use it, for two years.
There are so many cell phone companys offering different contracts, you just have to find the right one for you! I have heard on a number of occasions that people hate the hassle of going to look and find the best deal, its so hard they all say.
www.celldefense.com is a fun and easy way to find what your looking for. I have also struggled to find the right phone and contract for me, and i was referred to this web page, and believe it or not, i did find what i was looking for.