Verizon Palm Pre Plus drops to $30 on contract

Looks like Verizon is having a bit of a blowout on the Palm Pre Plus: it's fallen to just $30 on a two-year contract. That's the same price as Big Red's Pixi Plus and a pretty substantial discount over Sprint and AT&T, both of which will charge you $149 -- and man, AT&T hasn't even started selling the thing yet, so someone's going to look awful silly on launch day. No word on whether this cut-rate pricing will last or whether the Pixi Plus will fall to free, but if you're looking for a cheap way to get in on the future of HP, well, now's your chance.

[aarun2000 Posted May 3rd 2010 11:33AM]

And you can get this for FREE on wirefly, dont understand why people have to buy from Verizon site.

Other great deal is DRIOD for FREE.

I am with T-Mobile and i have always got phones from Wirefly..and paid nothing for phones which would have been $$ on carrier sites

[Stevenk Posted May 3rd 2010 11:41AM]

Already?

[JK11 Posted May 3rd 2010 12:05PM]

Anyone have a decent amount of experience with the pre plus? I'm curious about how usable the keyboard is. I have an iphone but am tired of AT&T's awful service. I see Android as a good potential OS but am scared that I'm going to buy a phone and then have to wait months if not longer for updates...I think the iphone may be a little more polished too. I love the web os when I play with the pre at the VZW store but have some trouble with the keyboard. I just wonder whether I would get used to it over time, much like the on screen keyboard on the iphone. In a lot of ways, Web OS feels like the most polished mobile OS on the market today, which is pretty amazing when you consider the resources of the other major players.

[ESLKid75 Posted May 3rd 2010 1:08PM]

@JK11 I switched from the iPhone to the Palm Pre Plus a month ago, when VZW came out with the $49.99, buy one get one free, and free mobile hotspot promotion.
The Pre Plus made me realize how much I had missed an actual keyboard. Yes, the keys are small, but it's a lot more usable than the iPhone's virtual keyboard. You can type without looking.
And webOS... I mean, there is NO better mobile OS out there. The swipes are so intuitive (I always find myself looking for the back button on the iPad, and it ain't that big, so you better not miss it, whereas a right to left swipe would take me back without having to hit a target/button). And cards, I mean, even the multitasking described in iPhone OS 4 is not coming close to it. Cards are the most intuitive way to switch between applications I've seen to date. And notifications. Man, how annoying those iPhone pop ups can be!

Don't miss it.

One thing I miss: Shazam!

And that's it... so I can live without it, until HP pays good money to Shazam to make it happen on webOS.

[kenny goo Posted May 3rd 2010 12:15PM]

Since HP bought Palm I'd feel a lot better about buying a WebOS device. Just made my next phone decision a bit harder, lol.

[derekdevine Posted May 3rd 2010 12:26PM]

I honestly can't believe the Pre Plus is still launching. Pre 2 is due.

[Elranzer Posted May 3rd 2010 12:45PM]

Hence the clearance, eh?

[TheHoldSteady Posted May 3rd 2010 1:08PM]

Make it available with a $10 per month data plan, and I'd get one.

[MilesBFree Posted May 3rd 2010 1:13PM]

HPre, anyone?

[onlysublime Posted May 3rd 2010 1:17PM]

in California, you have to pay tax on the unsubsidized phone price, not on the purchase price. so if the unsubsidized price really is $599...
the tax on that phone ($50+)will be higher than the $30.
we learned that hard lessen when we got 2 enV Touch phones (buy 1 for $50, get the second free) and ended up paying $120 taxes. we were shocked. but lo and behold, it's in the fine print.

[Astounding Posted May 3rd 2010 1:34PM]

Who cares? You're all idiots for signing these 2 year contracts.

[JONNNathannn Posted May 3rd 2010 1:50PM]

@Astounding get a job

then you dont have to compromise what phone you can get or whether you can use 3g or edge to save a few bucks

[BigD145 Posted May 3rd 2010 2:41PM]

That $30 data plan is one of the higher tier ones and certainly not necessary.

[onlysublime Posted May 3rd 2010 11:22PM]

@BigD145 smartphones on verizon require the $30 data plan. multimedia phones require the $10 data plan. verizon practically forces a data plan on everyone.

[Johnny Rockets Posted May 3rd 2010 5:12PM]

Wow, they better release some new hardware, FAST.

I can't see how they can still make a profit from these prices.

They probably don't, so I would hope they have some new hardware coming out very very soon, or HP just might reconsider.

[Leejayus Posted May 3rd 2010 5:18PM]

My question is, if I am eligible for a upgrade soon. Should I get this or wait for the rumored iphone 4g for verizon or wait for the rumored pre 2?

[daving313 Posted May 3rd 2010 5:49PM]

@Leejayus You'll see a Pre 2 before you ever see an iPhone on Verzion.

[Chefgon Posted May 3rd 2010 6:28PM]

@Leejayus

iPhone 4G on Verizon isn't going to happen. Pre 2 is probably another 6 months away minimum, possibly longer. Droid Incredible is your best bet for a high-end smartphone on Verizon right now, but honestly if you're into webOS then why not just get the Pre Plus and be happy with it?

[DerekUGA Posted May 3rd 2010 7:50PM]

Yeah well when you're paying over a grand a year for service they should be giving out Droids, not selling these for $30. It is amazing how dumb consumers are.

[fast Posted May 4th 2010 4:25AM]

@DerekUGA ...amazing and "magical".