Holding out hope that the Palm Pre will launch in April? We suppose there's still a chance, but Sprint's internal plans don't seem to account for it. Engadget Mobile [via MyPre and haydur in our forums] has posted up what appears to be a screengrab of Sprint's April roadmap, no Pre to be seen. We imagine that they'd be willing to change course if the Pre is ready sooner, but for now my throw-a-dart-pick-a-date guess of May 10th is starting to feel pretty good (if a bit optimistic?).
Comments
My educated guess of a June 31 announcement of "Sorry, but we'll have it out soon" is looking more and more accurate.
You can't be educated to make an educated guess if you are talking about a non-existent day. (hint: 30 days in June)
ROFL
Fail.
Well considering Palm and Sprint both have said "first 1/2 of 2009" and June 31 is actually July 1st because June doesn't have 31 days you goob - then your uneducated guess is quite possible.
i finally made my decision to leave my fuze on att and i want this now. i was hoping wm6.5 would pull threw but guess i have to wait for 7.
I hope Dieter is right (or close). And if so, I'd put money on an announcement (of the release date) at CTIA.
I think this will NEVER be on a leaked list or something. I think that whenever its ready, they will announce it for the next week or so imho. They (Palm & Sprint) are working on it, the minute they pass/fix all obstacles, they will announce it.
Dieter, based on what are you guessing May 10th?
Further proof: "...as the company prepares to ramp up manufacturing," as in, it is not currently ramped up.
:(
On the other hand, "there are no showstoppers for the Pre launch in the first half of the year."
@ceejay:
i think May 10 is Dieters birthday, he said that on the latest Palm Cast
April 19th for pre-order. 20th for store wide sales
Really really stupid move by Palm/Sprint. If it is now going to be out in June, I am definitely going to wait to see the new iPhone. They potentially lost a sale ...
Ok, lets think for a second. When Palm announced this they said FHo2009. If they were releasing it in June, why not say 2Q 2009? Based upon the demo we saw at CES and the financial stability of the company, this thing was not only nearly ready to go out, but the company NEEDS to put it out. I am thinking that Palm intended to get it out in March at the earliest with the possibility of it getting pushed to April, otherwise they would have been more specific with which quarter.
There is the possibility that development has been slowed to an extreme degree and it will be launched in May, but given the readiness of the device and the company's financial situation, they really do need to release it in April.
Add onto all of this that Palm had a number of events to announce the phone at and they miraculously chose CES (so early in the year), the phone must have been very nearly read at that event. If not, then the Palm marketing department is inept because buzz should NEVER be built too early because you will never regain it with your core reference group (phone enthusiasts) and innovator consumer segment.
Disclaimer: I am in marketing.
I think this is the same timeline that Apple had when it announced and released the iphone. Seemed to have worked for them.
Apple didn't have competition nearly as strong as Palm will face in 2009. Plus Apple announced a release date.
"The first advertisement for iPhone, titled "Hello," aired during the 79th Academy Awards on February 25, 2007 on ABC."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_iPhone
This means Pre is several weeks behind the iPhone time line as of today.
"June 04, 2007 — IDG News Service (Tokyo Bureau) — Apple will launch its iPhone in the United States on June 29, it said in TV commercials that began airing on Sunday."
http://www.cio.com/article/115950/Apple_iPhone_Coming_on_June_
Yes, there was a guessing game for a few months about the iPhone release date as well. HOWEVER, however, however:
"Wed, January 10, 2007 — CIO — The Apple iPhone unveiled Tuesday, described as jaw-dropping by one analyst.... The iPhone will be available starting in June through Cingular and via Apple online and physical stores. It will be priced at US$500 for a device with a 4GB hard drive or $600 for an 8GB hard drive. Those prices require a two-year Cingular service contract at extra cost."
http://www.cio.com/article/28076/Apple_Cingular_Partner_on_iPhone
So, uh oh, it seems that the iPhone's month of release was announced within a week of the trade show unveiling. Oh, that's not really the same as the Pre. We don't know exact pricing/contract req's. We don't know what exact release-month. The details are way more satisfying from Apple.
Would you disagree?
Yes I do disagree. You are making the baseless assumption that Palm is following Apple's marketing strategy to the T, which would be entirely false and have no benefit to the company.
When did I assume that?
I think you clicked on the wrong 'reply' because the anonymous guy made the assumption:
I think this is the same timeline that Apple had when it announced and released the iphone. Seemed to have worked for them.
My point is just that Palm is mismanaging expectations. And when people defend the strategy by saying "it's the same as the iPhone strategy" then I have to take issue with that.
I see your logic here but I'm not sure I agree with this. I get the feeling that Palm announced as early as they did knowing that they would want to have a stock offering before they do a major ramp up in marketing/promotion for the release. If they hadn't announced at CES and created that buzz, I doubt they could have pulled in the $84 million from the stock offering. My guess is they decided to use the initial hype as a means to stockpile enough cash to market this thing right in the months leading up to launch.
I'm not going to bother speculating on a launch date, but I do think if they promote it right they can get another nice bump in hype for release time (and now they might actually have enough cash to do that).
I do think Palm will release it right before the new iPhone software. There has been a lot of hype around the Pre and the release and it seems as if Palm wants to overshadow the iPhone and apple. Which from a business standpoint would be smart. May 10th would be a nice date but I like everyone else have learned not to hold your breath. :)
All the hype is gone. When the pre was first announced a lot of people that I know were really excited. none of them have mentioned it in over a month. No one cares anymore.
I don't think all the hype is gone. It's showing up on the main headlines now for google news:
http://news.google.com/news?pz=1&ned=us
"For Palm, Some Tough Acts to Follow"
"What if the Palm Pre Bombs?"
"Palm Sales Plummet as Pre Waits in the Wings"
"Palm says Pre on track as revenue plummets"
"Palm Reports Huge 3Q Loss, Puts Hopes On Pre"
"Palm bets the farm on WebOS"
Those are all articles triggered by the really really bad financial news out of Palm.
Reading about how the company probably doesn't have cash to support dual dependent new products, the new hardware and the new Operating system, does not equal "hype" or even excitement.
"none of them have mentioned it in over a month."
People are mentioning it. That's my point. People are writing articles about it, which is more than just mentioning it. Whether or not you call that hype or not, well then we're just talking semantics.
You got it right. The news on Palm cited in those articels is actually just all bad news!
The mentions are not about positive expectations but about how much of a problem Palm has.
It will be released on PALM SUNDAY APRIL 12th. Think about it
LoL, that's pretty clever. That's a holiday right? (I had to look it up on google) ;-)
ceejaypedia definition for PALM SUNDAY:
Palm Sunday is a Technophilic moveable feast which always falls on the Sunday before hell freezes over. The feast commemorates an event mentioned by all four Precentral Gospels Dieter 11:1-11, Jason 21:1-11, Annie 19:28-44, and Jennifer 12:12-19: the triumphal entry of Roger McNamee into Jerusalem in the days before his Pre Passion Hype Interview.
On many Technophilic web sites, Palm Sunday is marked by the posting of palm product demo videos(often nearly identical in content) to the assembled worshipers. The impossibility of procuring a Palm Pre for that day's ceremonies during poor Palm Inc performance led to substitution with iPhones, Instincts, and other trendy, but non-enterprise-friendly phones.
You can finish the article after the unlocatable jump.
iPhone is non enterprise friendly but Pre will be? You need to get out more! iPhone is all over the enterprise business. Pre won't see enterprise uptake until early or mid 2010.
I have a friend that works for sprint. When a new phone is about to be launched Sprint picks one employee in most stores and the phone that is to be launched is sent to the store and used by that employee on an actual plan. The new phone that is to be launched is usually sent 3 to 4 weeks in advance to that store and employee. There is concrete evidence that the Pre will be delivered to his store for one of the employees. They started this program so consumers that were in the store could actually see a working device before its launch date. The reason for giving it to an employee is because it will actually be activated. Alot of people dont know this. The Pre is due in his store on the 24th of Mar. In Feb one store employee got the Palm Pro the last week of Feb. The Pro launched 15 Mar. Do the math. With this being said I have no reason but to believe that the Pre will launch 15 April
You don't have a friend who works for Sprint. Except perhaps a janitor. Advocate's models come to stores 7 to 3 days before general release.
Also we know you are just making it up because the stores didn't get Palm Pro in February. All stores got one Palm Pro advocates model on JANUARY 19, as soft launch schedule was Jan 21 and full launch on Jan 25.
Try selling that BS somewhere where people don't know anything about Sprint.
Wow take it easy bro! Dont stroke out its just a phone. Get a hobby.
LOL, you caught him. another make-believe "friend."
Im not here to argue or convince anyone anything. Just passing on information. I dont like to have my integrity questioned but im sure you dont know me from anyone else. Nobody has facts on when the release dates are for the Pre. But the dates I gave you on when the Pro hit his store and when the Pre is hitting his store are factual. Your stating when the Pro hit all stores and that is not a fact. I live in Southern Cal. Dont take my word for it. Put in a southern cal zip code on the sprint store lets say ummm 92105 it will show you the release date of 15 Mar for the Pro. Again im not here to argue with you and I would appreciate if you didnt question my integrity. Go to the sprint site put that So Cal zip in and you will see a release date of 15 Mar for the Pro in So Cal. I cant comment on when it was released in the rest of the country only that it was released in So Cal on the 15th. And that his store will be receiving the Pre for an Employee on the 24th. And with that I gave a guess of 15-20 April for a launch date. You dont have to agree with that. But thats how I came up with that date not because I dont have a friend who works for Sprint or I felt like making something up.
No one is is questioning your integrity, just your facts which are all wrong and obviously made up
The advocates models come a couple of days before release.
The scheduled release of the Pro was Jan 25. The stores got advocates models a couple of days before.
You don't have a friend who works for sprint or they would have known that.
Original Pro release date: Jan 25
Pro advocates models in stores: Jan 18
mrsugafree. I think thats exactly why youre here, to argue.
Palm is just another evil empire that wants to make alot of money and is making us wait a long time only to say that the demand is greater than the supply and they wil sell the pre for a boat load of money an they know we will pay beacuse they have been hyping the pre since january and they cant wait for all of us to stand in line to get raped. screw sprint and palm im going with metro pcs!
Don't let the door hit you on the way out
@Laidback - I live at 92101(downtown)...lemme know when your buddy gets the Pre!
He works in the Mission Valley store. He himself is not getting the phone. One of the employee's that works for the store will get the phone. He said the phone will be delivered and activated for one of them. I will check with him but I would say if you wanted to see it in person working head down to the Mission Valley store on the 25th. I will reverify this tomorrow. I last spoke with him friday 20 Mar. I will come back and post something here once I talk with him again tomorrow.
Doesnt any body realize that sprint is waiting for the 1st gen iphone users contract to expire???? There have been quotes all over stating that "none of the 1st gen iphone users will return to using the iphone but choosing the palm pre" I think sprint has made a crappy choice to wait so long to release a phone which has been in the making for so long. I am a iphone user but have waited to long for the palm pre and will buy the new release iphone coming this summer.
Um that was a a quote from that Roger Mcnamee guy. I don't think that that is Sprint nor Palms actual plan. Yeah I phone is coming this summer, Somtime. But if the Pre is in the next 2-3 months why wouldn't you get that if its what you want?
Well I'm actually a Sprint customer. Ive been calling them every week since I 1st heard about the Pre in January. I finally got an official release date; April 15th. To back Laidback, the March 24th date is correct as far as a store rep recieving one. I was informed by a rep from sprint about two weeks ago. Everything he said was pretty accurate. Btw I live in Michigan not Cali, and the April 15th date is nationwide. Now if they decide to change that date is between Sprint and Palm. I will definately be on top of it. I dont have a confirmed price yet but every rep I spoke with gave me an estimate of 150-200 with a two year contract which is quite reasonable in my eyes.
Ok. I am wondering as to why they would give you the release date and no one else. Why do you say April 15th? Cause a Sprint rep said so? I would love for it to be April 15th. But it is so hard to believe things these days.
Laid back used his alter ego mr sugar to back his own story.
Facts:
1) Advocates copies come to stores on five or six days before sales start.
2) The pre is not even in production!
My magic 8 ball, a fortune cookie, and my ouija board told me that the Pre is coming mid April. I trust these 3 items more than any sprint store rep.
Does FCC filing prove release date?
Maybe some of you who follow closely can answer this and let us all relax for a while: Is there a mandated minimum "wait period" before FCC filing and release? If not, is there a "usual" time period between FCC filing and release?
If so, we can all chill until we see the Palm Pre FCC filing (sure to be posted on Engadget), then add the requisite number of days and we'll know when to start REALLY freaking out.
Of course, if there is no minimum and phones are often released as early as days after filing, I guess we'll just keep riding this rollercoaster.
fcc filings, testing and approval can be done as much as 4 or even 6 months before release.
they do alphas now days, the pre from ces would suffice. The maker simply asks the FCC not to release the information until a certain date, and can delay that date every month.
For example Pre could have been in February (or even January) May and not release until July, with no public release of FCC data until July one day before release. the testing is about emissions, it can all be done on the alpha, as long as later hardware is within certain tolerances of stated emissions, and a working OS is not even needed.
Looks like iphone software update has pretty much included all the new wizardry that Palm is likely to install in it's "web os".
see: http://www.apple.com/iphone/preview-iphone-os/
Now I will just wait for the hardware update. Palm lost me with the waiting game...too bad, and I have been with Sprint for over 11yrs. LOL, what about the new blackberry nigagara? Apparently it has the best phone quality...something that seems to elude Palm everytime...the most important innovation for a PHONE!
Well I think April (or May I can't remember) is the end of a fiscal year for companies, so it doesn't make sense that they would be spending money to release a new product right at the end of the financial year when money's tight. June would be the beginning of the new fiscal year, more realistic time. But you really never know because since they have been planning this for a long time, they may have money set aside for the project, hopefully, to release it sooner. Sooner it comes out, better competition to iPhone.
Look...I have a Treo 650 and I just want a new phone. The Pre is it... I want it. Can't one of you just make it happen!
mh2lpd7u1gi79pps
I dropped my 755P yesterday. I have no choice but to buy an i-phone. I believe its the best alternitive of those available etc. My friends have all switched to the I-phone. I am/was a loyal Palm person. Just can't wait any longer.
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