We've pretty much taken the accepted wisdom out there as accurate, that the rumored Palm Pre February 15th launch is simply too good to be true. This despite the fact that we've received reports that Sprint employees (the ones who are left, anyway) are already receiving training on the device. The reason we and most others don't have a lot of faith in the rumor -- February 15th is the date that the Palm Treo Pro is set to finally launch on Sprint's network, and Pro and Pre sound awfully familiar. Add to that the fact that Februrary 15th falls within the Mobile World Congress convention in Barcelona and you get another confluence of problems for the date: all the journalists and bloggers who would want to rush out to review it will be off in Europe hunting down Windows Mobile, Nokia, and Android news (plus whatever they can find out from Palm's own appearance at MWC09).
Yet we have to admit, the Feb 15 rumor won't die. We're continuing to receive reports from a handful of sources who claim that not only is the 15th accurate, but is in fact designed from the get-go as a combined Treo Pro/Palm Pre launch. They insist that there isn't a conflation of Pre and Pro going on here.
We're of course hopeful that the Pre will launch sooner rather than later, but even in our wildest dreams we don't really expect the smartphone to launch earlier than mid-March. We'd love to be wrong, though, and if these reports are true, we just might be.
Thanks, Anonymous Tipsters!
Comments
Those "Anonymous tipsters" are full of crap.
If pal is known for anything is launching everything very late.. go back to the first treos to see what I mean.
Well, one way to tell for sure is to wait and see. Sure, it's probably a mistake, but let's keep hope alive. That will at least stop me from buying a G1 for several more weeks. My 700p is still a workhorse...but I have lust in my heart.
I doubt Sprint would release 2 Palm devices at the same time. It'd cost way to much and would probably detract from overall Pre sales, a device both Palm and Sprint want to be star.
I actually hope this phone doesn't come out on the 15th. Not because I don't want this phone to come out now but because I don't want the temptation to buy it because right now... I'm flat broke. I can't afford to put anything else on my credit card. LMAO!!!
I've made another post about this in the forums... but..
PLEASE Don't pull a Blackberry Storm!! and ship a phone thats not ready!! Where is the SDK? I want Palm to Ship a solid Phone!
Do i Smell a Superbowl AD for the PRE!!!
One big problem is that the Pre has not been approved for use in the US by the FCC.
FCC approval may be pending or complete but still secret, since Palm can (as it has in the past) request that the FCC keep things confidential until actual launch.
To keep track yourself, go to:
https://gullfoss2.fcc.gov/oetcf/eas/reports/GenericSearch.cfm
and put O8F (that's a letter o, and not a zero) in for the Grantee Code, then sort the results by date.
{ProfJonathan}
Correction: It appears that Palm may now be using:
O8F-SKYC
as its Grantee Code. Try that too. {ProfJonathan}
Wrong. O8F-SKYC is the Sprint/CDMA Treo Pro. The hint to this is that O8F-SKYG is the GSM Treo Pro.
Has the PRO been seen on the FCC website yet? The last statement I read on the forums was that the PRE had not been seen on FCC website.
If it hasn't been seen on the FCC website yet then its definitely confidential still. The stores have already begun receiving their fully functional seed devices.
There's nothing wrong in hoping for the best.
If it happens, it would be a poke in RIM's eye, since that company can't seem to launch a product on time to save its life.
Let's just hope the Pre's OS isn't half-baked like the Blackberry Storm's was when it first launched. RIM co-CEO, Jim Balsillie, has said customers should expect half-baked smartphones upon initial launch.
Phooey.
JUST TO let everyone know the TRE-pro is selling on best buys webpage check it out at
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0800000%23%230%23%23yf~~cabcat0801000%23%230%23%231r~~cabcat0801001%23%230%23%231~~nf425||4e6577204172726976616c73&list=y&nrp=15&sc=phoneOfficeSP&sp=%2Bbrand+skuid&usc=abcat0800000
Sprint's problem used to be coverage and wait times. Now it's just unaccountable CSRs that lie and constantly use their self-inflicted billing problems as opportunities to upsell instead of honor their agreements. I've stuck with them 12 years now because they theoretically fit my budget, but the pain their BS causes is becoming unbearable. Hope they layoff the ones who promise callbacks but never do...
@Joad: Whenever you have a CS issue, use eChat. I just canceled 2 of 3 lines without an ETF based on the increase in administrative fees from $0.75 to $0.99. If I had called, they would've either said no can do, or verbally agreed to it then done the opposite. eChat leaves a paper trail, since you can copy and paste the exchange, so they're less willing to say that they can't do something that's clearly within their legal capacity; and they're much less willing to agree to something that they'll reneg on later.
Never, ever use the phone to resolve an issue with Sprint.
Thanks, will check out echat next time I risk Sprint reps messing with my account, that's news to me. I posted in the wrong thread here, but sorta relevent to topic.
Yes, it seems too good to be true, but I don't think that 2/15 is that far-fetched if Sprint's sales force is already being given training. I wouldn't expect that to happen for a product being released four months later, even if it is Sprint's Hail Mary phone. More importantly, Palm needs to get past their exclusivity period with Sprint ASAP, so that it's available on bigger carriers before the holidays.
I just got a "courtesy call" from a Sprint rep... you know, the one where they want you to renew your contract and give you phone upgrade credits.. I told her I was waiting for the Pre to come out and she said that it was coming in a couple weeks. Then she told me that she believes that it is coming out on Feb. 13th. When I asked her the price, she put me on hold, then came back and gave me a standard, "I can't release that information before the phone is available. Keep checking the Sprint website." She had a tone in her voice like, she slipped up when she told me the release date... Obsessed, yes. Reaching, maybe... I'll take it for what it's worth.
Well, one way to tell for sure is to wait and see. Sure, it's probably a mistake, but let's keep hope alive. That will at least stop me from buying a G1 for several more weeks. My 700p is still a workhorse...but I have lust in my heart.
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