Palm Pre Release Date: May Not Be Until June?

As much as I'd like to have the pre sooner then later, a well tested version sounds better then the original experience I had with my 700p! I just hope that Palm's competitors can't get a one-up on Palm with this delay.

i hope this isn't the case. if so, competitors will have caught up with palm with synergy-like application to aggregate contact info. there's already tealOS for older palmOS devices to simulate the card view type multitasking, i'm using it right now on my T|X and it's great. i can't think that apple or android devs can be that far behind with something similar for their respective devices. beyond that i don't think there's much to make the pre stand out from other devices for the general public. this could mean the end of palm and sprint in my opinion. i'm personally on a month to month basis with sprint and eagerly awaiting the pre...but honestly i'll go somewhere else to something that does most things pre does for less and sooner if they make me wait too long and/or price themselves out of contention. seriously, it's kinda do or die for both these companies....they can't afford to wait until all the other companies get all their other stuff out there and dilute whatever splash the pre could make. this news disappionts me greatly and has me looking elsewhere more than yesterday. lame.

If this is the case, they (Sprint and Palm) will be losing out with a lot of eager customers. Customers will look else where and it would be either Apple's iPhone or RIM's Blackberry. It is highly published that Apple will bring out their next iPhone (either a new hardware or software) in June. And I can assure many of the customers that Sprint and Palm would want to drag from Apple or the customers that are on the borderline will most likely head to the iPhone. One thing I don't get, Palm had the Pre in the works for over two years and I'm sure they had prototypes way before the introduction at CES, why didn't they start testing this prior to the introduction? Whatever the case, they need to at least give a release date even if it's going to be in June. Give people something to look forward to, instead of them guessing.

I have had it anyway. Sprint took long enough to "announce" a decent phone. Now they are gonna string us along for a few months losing valuable customers and will probably delay it anyway. My contracts up at the end of this month and If I have not heard "something," im out. Apple will release new iphones without the "hype" announcements because they can. Palm has not earned the right to crank up a hype machine with all these years of lack luster products. Till this day the palm O.S. still looks like an 80s Macintosh computer. Whats up with that!

this all seems like a waste of time at this point, it looks lovely but wont the touch pro2 and diamond2 be out by then... this seems like a horrible move on palm's behalf...

I don't think I am going to wait for that long. Until this thing was announced I was happy to get an Android phone. There are only three things in this phone that excite me:

1. Contacts Synergy
2. Universal Search
3. Easy Multitasking

I haven't been following Android as much lately (for obvious reasons) but I don't know if it's that far behind. Android has easy app switching and a search box right on the home screen. I am sure someone somewhere is making a Facebook contact sync app for Android and iPhone. I think I am just go with the $400 developers Android and use it on T-Mobile.

Yeah I want a phone that is secure and I will def wait for this. But others won't. People are getting to anxious and jumping the gun and going for the iphone or a blackberry. I know if Sprint got a new blackberry here in the next month it would look tantalizing to me. I know the need to test test test to make sure we are getting a great phone. But if its not going to get to people here soon the market is going to go elsewhere. So lets get on it!

I'm not jumping the gun on anything. I have been waiting on sprint to catch up for 8 years. I still have a hard time believing this Pre is all its cracked up to be because its on sprint. Sprint has been so behind for so long. I still don't have 3g access. They are the only carrier in my area that doesn't. I was so happy my contract was up so I could move on until they announced the Pre. Now I want to hang around in case it does come out soon.

I do agree with most of users over here. I am tired their release date guessing game. I have been with sprint for over 8-9 years and thsi Nov-Dec 08 was seriously thinking of moving to another carrier mainly AT&T for iPhone but suddenly this new toy popped up from CES and started me to re-think for Sprint. But from the day of CES announcement, I have been closely monitoring PRE (Thanks PreCnetral !!!). But this June release is no way I can wait for that. I will give probably another week (EOM Feb), If Sprint do not have any RELEASE DATE, I am going to move with AT&T. On my last effort, I have asked one of my close friend at Sprint, who has good contact with Marketting head to check when are they announcing a release date. I learn from him that they have done Sprint Internal Pre Demo and the device looks simply great, but who has that patience to wait even for a RELEASE DATE when none of them have any date...

If its released anywhere past the first of may I'm gone. My plan is up in April and I'm not going sit around waiting for a phone. I'm just going to grab whats best when its my plan is up. I'd love to have this phone I look and watch videos about it almost everyday. And I understand that they want to get it right. But I'm not going to put everything on hold for it when there's always new and different technology from other companies coming out. If palm is really going to release it as late as possible but still keep their promise they probably should have waited. With a phone this cool people are going to want it and want it as soon as possible. Making everyone sit with no price and no release date is getting people upset and uninterested.

A release date would be nice, and i too consider buying something until i can get this, also because i need the GSM version, which will come even later.

But it doesnt matter so much, since i will be buying a Treo Pro if i dont wait.

A release date would be nice, and i too consider buying something until i can get this, also because i need the GSM version, which will come even later.

But it doesnt matter so much, since i will be buying a Treo Pro if i dont wait.

The topic in the forum was deleted. I'm not sure why, but my guess would be that the information provided didn't make sense & was not matching.

A "last" test run scheduled for 4/1/09...Yet the shipping date is also 4/1/09? Ok, yea...

this waiting is crazy I really want the phone and have sprint now but the phones are so crappy right now ive got to make a switch to the iphone. i have an instinct and it blows compared to i phone.

OK thanks Syphon

Your going to buy the phone anyway when it comes out. don't kid yourself.

Hyping can backfire when you have a bunch of sprint people who have been waiting for a cool phone for so long and now they know one is coming but not when is tough. It get you more impatient then you were before.

I'm waiting. But for the record, the only other phone that interests me is the HTC Touchpro 2.

I never thought those reports of an early 1qt 09 release date were true. Palm has never changed their story from it will be by end of the 1st half of 2009. That sounds like June to me.

thats true. Even the end of June is still on time considering Palms original announcement.

Again, WHY IN HELL DIDN'T PALM NOR SPRINT TEST THE PRODUCT PRIOR TO INTRODUCTION?!?! They could have easily done the testing in secrecy and then release it soon after the introduction instead of this, "1st half of 2009" crap.

I agree about not telling us so early. I'm growing VERY impatient and I may not wait around for it cause it at this point has me really frustrated. Apple was very upfront with the release date of the iPhone. Palm needs to clarify very soon on the release date. I started paying for the data plan that supports the Pre thinking of a Feb. 15 release. I'm wasting a lot of money for nothing.

WOW! An "anonymous source", you guys have to learn not to put too much stock into these so-called reports from unnamed sources. Adding to what "Syphon" brought up, how can you have testing and shipping on the same day??

From USAToday:

"Gifting suites — where celebrities go during awards season to load up on freebies — still abound in Los Angeles. At Saturday's Independent Spirit Awards, nominees can hit the backstage lounge to scoop up a Palm Pre, Koolaburra sheepskin boots, a Sakroots bag and a year-long membership to Crunch."

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-02-19-swag-s...

The USAToday article is a pretty good indication the Pre is passed testing. Why would Sprint and Palm give out a device (as a gift) that is not ready?

Well, if the Pre doesn't come out on Sprint until June, and I have to wait until 2010 to get it on ATT, I'm done, and will have to go to the dark side and get an iphone. I bought a Centro nearly a year ago as a stop-gap between my Treo 650 and the new wonderful phone to come (we now know it as the Pre), and have been patiently waiting. I am on our company plan, so switching to Sprint is out of the question. Even if I were on my family plan, we have 4 phones with staggered expirations. No way we would switch. Palm tying themselves into one carrier was a dumb mistake, and my very well prove to be the achilles heal for the Pre. I'm really unhappy that I may not be able to participate in the Pre excitement.

FIRST HALF OF 2009. Wow, some of you are just ate up. "I won't wait" "i'm so tired of their games" "I started a data plan to prepare for the Pre" LOL

Duh. Anyone who expected to have a Pre in their hands before 30 June was fooling themselves. Any time a company announces product availability within a certain timeframe, it means the end of that timeframe.

Isn't it also notable that Sprint has exclusivity until 2009. That's not a long time if the release date is in June. The release has to be sooner than that.

It is unreal that people are saying how terrible it is for palm to be tied up for apro. 6 mos., when Apple is tied up with att for 5 years from the date of start. Looks like shorts are trying to do al they can to escape the inevitable. Losing all their money

Also, to Cardfan... when I mentioned I got a data plan, it made me upset because when we asked our Sprint rep about the Pre and he insisted we get the data plan since it was suppose to be out Feb. 15 and that if we got it when we got the phone, we would get charged data charges cause the plan wouldn't go into affect until the next month (that's how Sprint plans work).

Now we are stuck with this pricey plan with no phone and now im told i may not get it until June?! I cant switch plans cause it would cost more money. I'm well within my right to be upset, sprint probably swindled many people with that line.

Would it have helped if Palm said June 09? I don't get what's the big fuss.

Release the phone earlier with bugs and everyone bitches. Release it later still within the time-frame and people still bitch.

Would it have helped if Palm said June 09? I don't get what's the big fuss.

Release the phone earlier with bugs and everyone bitches. Release it later still within the time-frame and people still bitch.

Would it have helped if Palm said June 09? I don't get what's the big fuss.

Release the phone earlier with bugs and everyone bitches. Release it later still within the time-frame and people still bitch.

Would it have helped if Palm said June 09? I don't get what's the big fuss.

Release the phone earlier with bugs and everyone bitches. Release it later still within the time-frame and people still bitch.

yes!

Am I missing something? When did Sprint and or Palm make the launch date official? When did Sprint and or Palm release a statement outlining the details of Sprints exclusivity? There has to be responsibility in writing and journalism, siting an anonymous source is NOT responsible.

Sprint Reps were saying Feb. 15. I was told in person by a rep.

In response to the poster above a while back, I saw that article on USA today too. I wonder if this is just a test of some kind or marketing plan.

I know celebs get first access to a lot of things, hydrogen cars and I guess cell phones. I remember P Hilton or one of those girls had a BB Bold a month before it was released anywhere. Do not know if this is related at all but just my two cents

In response to the poster above a while back, I saw that article on USA today too. I wonder if this is just a test of some kind or marketing plan.

I know celebs get first access to a lot of things, hydrogen cars and I guess cell phones. I remember P Hilton or one of those girls had a BB Bold a month before it was released anywhere. Do not know if this is related at all but just my two cents

PRE IS FULLY TESTED! Why? because they are giving them away as gifts for celebrities. They would never give out unfinished products to any celebrities.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/movieawards/oscars/2009-02-19-swag-s...

I would agree. Sprint made the date official when I asked their call center rep "When will the Pre be available? Not the Pro, the Pre." and the answer was Feb 15th.

Come to think of it, right after I was told the Pre would be out Feb 15th I was asked if I wanted to renew my contract for 2 more years. Sounds like a deceptive marketing technique to me.

It's a good thing I said no I'd wait for the Pre. Since I am not under contract I can go get an iphone. Good bye Sprint.

Palm, good luck. I'll be looking forward to getting a new Palm device in two years. (If you're still around!)

The main thing, is I think people are just getting impatient. When was the last time a Palm phone was released? Now the Centro, but what else? Oh yes, the 800w, and that lasted what? 6 months. They are giving those away now for $99. The Pro still isn't out yet, so we cant even count that one.

Look at RIM... Bold, the Storm, and now the 8900.

HTC already has some announced, and I bet those will come out before the Pre. If not, most probably think that.

I'm impatient, and i'm not gonna lie. I bought a 800w, thought it was junk, and went back to my 700p. I came extremely close to getting a Touch Diamond, but held off. I then saw the Pre, and now I cant wait any longer :)

Your true and loyal Palm fans are just tired of waiting and that's what it boils down to. I see all these other "cool phones" and I ask myself.... Where is MY cool phone? Almost seems if I went with any other company i'd have a choice of new phones, but with Palm, I impatiently wait, in HOPES to stay loyal. I came so close to jumping ship, but the Pre info came out just in time for me to hold off AFTER I returned my 800w a week after it came out.

Palm FLOPPED on the 800w and most people were hoping for that to be their NEW phone. So when we all returned it, we sat around wondering what was next.

Anyways, I could rant on and on, but you get my point.

The celebs were just playing with the Pre's, I bet they didn't get to keep them now.

This phone should not have been shown at CES. June? so another 4 months, thats not cool. The fact that it will only be on Sprint for a few months before the other providers won't mean much. They showed it to early, now when the new I-phone- htc touch or next great phone is released every one will say " palm pre? Thats old" If they would have waited till closer to release it would still have the freshness factor.

Fail Fail and More Fail.

At least Palm had a good shot, which is more than anyone expected before they announced the Pre.

I wonder who convened a whiner's convention here?

Neither Sprint nor Palm has ever said anything other than first half of 2009 to this point. Any other "release dates" mentioned are PURE SPECULATION. And we all know about the confusion between the "Pre" and the "Pro" on the part of the CSR's at Sprint.

Now, I would suggest that just the fact that people are so anxious about the release of the Pre is a very good sign for Palm and Sprint. People are truly excited about this phone. If they weren't, no one would care if it is released next week or next century! However, releasing a buggy phone would be a disaster, so I can understand both Sprint and Palm wanting to make SURE that this goes well. So calm down everyone!!!!

it sounds like palm and sprint are both falling apart under their own hype, maybe sprint can post another lose of 2 million subscribers this time around???

Just talked to a friend who works at the Sprint World Headquarters in Kansas City. He said he'd be shocked if the Pre was out before May, most likely first week of June...so sucks to be us I guess...

I looked around for one of those "cool" phones you mentioned...didn't see one. There won't be one. Nothing changes much between now and June when comparing phones. Not even the rumored iphone which looks stupid next to the Pre. Take a deep breath and quit getting sucked in to every rumored date and think June. If it's earlier than consider it a bonus.

My guess is that there are still too many bugs to release the product. There is an old saying in computer & software development: "If you can choose your lumps, choose late lumps over wrong lumps." I have been in the computer industry and watched time and time again executive management caving into valid customer rants about "wanting it now", or else. In every case, there were many problems which turned the customer off far more than if the release date had been delayed until it was relatively solid. Of course, you can't wait until it's perfect or it will never get released. So, as much as I want a Pre, and want it now, PLEASE don't send a half baked product to market. You'll regret it. And this could be the last hurrah for Palm and/or Sprint.

The 3rd generation iPhone, Android Magic, HTC Touch Pro 2 and others will probably all be ready to drop by the time the Pre is ready.

Theme song for the Pre release date rumors.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRte0S2a_dA&feature=PlayList&p=836552301D...

The majority of the public don't even know about CES or any technology shows much less know what a Palm pre is. Last time I checked those are the ones buying large amounts of I-phones for the cool factor or ease of use. Once this phone is released and people see its ease of use and what it can do things will change a lot for the better. As for Sprint service they have made many changes for the better. All I here about is people not happy with the cost of other plans and starting to rethink getting sprint service. If this trend continues and Sprint comes though with some decent phones they may have a chance. I want the Palm pre as much as the next guy, and think it is worth the wait if it comes out working like it was designed to.

I been saying June! Everyone at the Sprint sotres has sd June. We're just going to have to wait

Actually that's not true. The fact is that Sprint did tell people Feb 15th. That's not Palm's fault. It does show that Sprint is really desperate and apparently dishonest.

I'm not sure if the ones that are complaining are the ones that actually got the "Feb 15" response directly from a sprint rep. But regardless or the sources, why would sprint intentionally lie? To call them dishonest is a bit foolish since sprint doesn't benefit in any way for telling you any false date.

Why would Bernard Madoff lie? If, as stated earlier, CSRs were selling services or trying to renew contracts based on a Feb 15th release date, that's dishonest. It also is an attempt to take advantage of customers who were simply excited about a new product.

I think Sprint's call center did some real damage to their credibility with existing customers that are interested in the Pre..

If the call center was saying Feb 15 I don't think it was intentional. I've call many times before and most of the people answering the sprint customer service lines are incompetent. They really don't know much about their own products. I'm sure they were going off what other callers said just to sound like they knew what they were saying. They are very disorganized and uninformed. I would continue to put up with their crap if they just released the Pre:).

wow June? I dont think i can wait till June...come on sprint/palm release the PRE already. G2 looks very nice

My cell phone contract ran out in September. September. SEPTEMBER! S.E.P.T.E.M.B.E.R.
I've had the 700wx for 2.5 years now. It's buggy. Activesync screws up my calendar and files sometimes. Windows Mobile could be improved in so many ways. For instance, why the heck are all the buttons tiny and in the corners of recessed screens...? My stylus usage dropped dramatically when I got a TREO 700wx b/c of the QWERTY. I don't want to use a stylus. I found a way to get excited about the TREO PRO. Definitely seems like a cut above other phones (for my needs/wants).

I have no problem with using any brand of OS as long as it fulfills my needs better than the others. Why do they all suck? It makes me want to brush-up on my programming skills even though I HATE programming.

The PRE has impressed me. But I don't want to just pay out to a cell phone provider forever their inflated fees that are set to recoup free phone giveaways!!!!!!!! I'm getting screwed because all the phones available are derivative drivel.

Who needs or really finds lasting utility Touchflo? Who needs iToy/iStatsymbol? "Not me," said the duck?

Well, no shit. Why else would Palm say they're trying really hard to release it in the first half of 2009? I'm drooling over the pre as much as the next guy, but I'm not delusional.

You can't just believe everything you read in your own forum Precentral. Come on, wtf is that? Get some hard evidence of release dates before posting rumors and misleading your audience.

This is getting ridiculous.

"Why get mad based on rumors?!" Because they weren't just rumors if Sprint CSR's disseminated them.

"We already knew the Feb 15th date was a lie!" No, everyone didn't. That's obvious.

"We don't care if you don't buy a Pre!" Sure we do. There are threads devoted to every aspect of this discussion.

Are we so frustrated by other people's frustrations that we'll just verbally kick the $#!+ out of each other? Enjoy living up to our unfortunate geek stereotypes.

Look on the bright side, the longer they leave it the more likely they are to up the storage. I imagine that 8GB will look pretty poor by June in comparison with other handsets.

All the people calling Sprint the Pre's Achilles heel make me laugh hilariously. Sprint has THE fastest and most reliable data coverage in the nation, definitely in my area in the midwest. And it is WAY better than AT&T's 3G - I've never even had AT&T 3G coverage anywhere I've been! AT&T is the IPHONE'S Achilles heel! That is and has always been the single biggest reason why I haven't bought an iPhone for myself. Sprint's EVDO Rev. A will work much faster and more widely available on the Pre than AT&T's 3G on the iPhone and that is cold hard fact. So I don't know how you can call Sprint the Pre's Achilles heel, when their data network is clearly much better than AT&T's, and look how successful AT&T still were. All the more successful Sprint will be. Everyone saying that is obviously just held back by being on contract with other service providers and mad that they don't get the hottest new phone on their network.

Sprint always gets the new phones last and years after they have been available on other networks. They finally do something good and smart for themselves and their subscribers by getting a new hot phone first and you complain about it? Shutup already. Any other network you could be signed with has had their share of new phones first before anyone else. Now it's Sprint's turn, finally after years of getting phones 2 years after they've been out, and their phone happens to be the one everyone wants. All the better for them. If the Pre does everything it has been shown to do stable and reliably, this will crush the iPhone. Looks like you should have respected John R. a little more Apple, especially when he's what made you what you are today. Now he's going to make someone else (Palm) better.

Palm and Sprint, please give us a solid, stable, reliable Pre and we will support you and both your companies. Best wishes to both of you.

I don't think anyone is questioning Sprints reliability or coverage. I think people are just upset that they finally are on the leading edge with their new phone and their CSR's are blowing it. It's going to turn into a PR nightmare for Sprint.

I HAVE A FEELING THAT SPRINT AND PALM ARE JUST GOING TO SUPRISE US AND JUST RELEASE THE PHONE.. MAYBE THATS WHY THERE IS NO DATE AND PEOPLE AT SPRINT SAY THEY DONT KNOW ANYTHING OR COMING UP WITH RANDOM DATES..

Gio is the man. Nicely put

By June there won't be many Sprint customers left at the rate they lose them.

I don't get why once u get notified by palm to see when the pre comes out, they send u that email, and it says "It'll be here before you know it."...
That should mean soon, but june is not soon to me...

Roundtable Podcast 3... Please, Please loose the intro music! Arrgghh

My contract is up and Sprint is calling trying to get me to renew for 2years and upgrade my phone. I told them that I'm not renewing till the Pre comes out and they said on multiple occasions that it should be out the first week of March but still would give a price. I don't believe this myself but I figured I would add fuel to the fire and get more people in a frenzy.

Be weary, Sprint reps make commission for contracts they get new or renew. I wrote a post earlier:

"When we (family and I) asked our Sprint rep about the Palm Pre, he insisted we get the data plan since it was suppose to be out Feb. 15 and that if we got it when we got the phone, we would get charged data charges cause the plan wouldn't go into affect until the next month (that's how Sprint plans work). The rep insisted the date would be February 15 so we had to get the higher more expensive plan in time for the release.

Now we are stuck with this pricey plan with no phone and now im told i may not get it until June?! I cant switch plans cause it would cost more money. "

It's wishful thinking but I HIGHLY doubt March 1.

I am, like everyone else, excitied about this phone. I think Palm should have started to tease this phone late last year and then announced at date at the CES. Having said that I don't think it will be too long before we see this phone. I was at a Sprint store today and the one rep said he would not be surprised to see the phone in late March or April. Patience is a virtue!

There is a lot of hype and anticipation for this phone, i hope its worth the wait. If anybody is interested, they can join my mailing list and I will keep you updated as to the news pertaining to the Pre as more details are released in the coming weeks. If you would like to join and be notified of changes and updates, please let me know at cpowell@vazcom.net

I've been a Sprint customer for over a decade. I was so excited at the thought of having the Pre last year when it was first announced that waiting didn't seem to be a big deal. Months later, without ANY idea of the exact date on which the Pre will be released, this is all becoming a bit too much. If Sprint doesn't release an actual firm date by mid-March when my contract with them is over, I'll be leaving for AT&T and purchase the new iPhone. Who's the brainchild who came up with this kind of marketing strategy anyway?

Some of the people that post on this board are just incredible. Comments like "string us along", "horrible move" and "I've been out of contract since ___!" are so dumb and ignorant. No one is stringing you along, making sure a phone is as bug free as possible is not a bad move and Palm/Sprint have no control on when you contract ended.

Stop calling Sprint CSR's! They don't know! Isn't that just so obvious by now? Isn't it obvious that all the confusion on them giving dates in Feb and March are due to the Pro?

People just need to chill and wait for the end of the first half of this year for the phone. Just wait for Sprint or Palm to say when its coming out and save yourselves the heartburn, It's really not worth it.

Honestly I would love this phone, but I don't want to wait that long. I rather have an unlocked blackberry storm or instinct. Its just nuts to get peoples hopes up.

my two cents are regardless of the release date, how many bugs could you possibly have in a OS that is based on such simplistic code as java, html and css? Look at the websites that you browse today and consider that it probably took maybe two months to develop. Should it already be done? In my opinion yes. Is it actually done? God only knows having seen the other Palm releases and Sprints very strange marketing in the past... but as a current palm user, I pray every night that this thing will be available sooner then later because it appears that palm finally has listened to us strangely dedicated users and all our complaints on the many forums around the internet

I hope Palm is working around the clock. I'm ready to buy the Pre NOW.

I've been with Sprint for almost 10 years, and the Palm Pre is the first phone I am really excited for.
My last 2-year contract ended last June but I stuck around for the Instinct to go down in price and then the HTC models came out. Now, since CES, I've been dying to get my hands on a Pre.
My main thing for not switching to another provider (or upgrade to a new phone) is b/c I have an awesome Sprint plan from 5 years ago that beats any plans out in the market.
I really how Sprint annouce a release date soon, or at least, have some test phones in the stores so people can check it out and get a real feel for the phone.

When they said first half of 2009 everyone should have assumed that a specific release date was never coming. I think this was a way to hang on to customers that were on the brink of switching to the iphone. I have been with sprint for too long. I look around and every other carrier has some pretty unique phones that I would take over any sprint phone. But then there was this Pre thing that allowed me to wonder that just maybe there is hope to stay with sprint. Now this inability to announce a release date. It has me wondering if it is worth any wait at all. Ill tell you what, if it doesn't have a video camera.....I'm out! Catch up to the times man. A phone needs to have everything these days to even be considered. Its easy...phone, music/video player, multi-megapixel video/camera, games, apps, and web. Put it together and let us know when. Why is the US so far behind in this market?