We were pretty psyched for our friends down under when we heard rumors that the Pre would be coming to Oz, but it’s looking like that might not be the case at all. Our friend Jason heard the same rumblings that we’ve heard: that Palm has all but pulled out of Australia. So he fired off some emails to Palm and received the following depressing reply (which we have verified):
“At this moment in time, we do not yet have any plans to launch the Palm Pre or any of our new WebOS products in Asia Pacific. Our focus right now is to establish a strong presence in North America and Europe. However, we do not discount the possibility of offering this new range of products at a later date.
It is therefore not a rumor that Palm has significantly reduced its presence in the region to one of operational support to our existing customers requiring our in-warranty services and technical support for our sold products.”
The Palm rep went on to say, “I assure you Jason that our products will come to this region one day but it won’t be that soon.”
Separately, senior executives at Australian carrier Telstra (whom we expected to land the Pre) were quoted in July as saying, “We have spoken to Palm and our understanding is that [Palm] is only interested in the US and European market.”
Ouch. We at PreCentral want as many people to get their hands on webOS and the Palm Pre (or Pixi) as possible, because we do believe it is one of, if not the, best mobile platforms out there. But we do understand Palm’s position; they are a small company (around 1000 employees) working on big goals. But with their limited manpower and capital resources Palm has to keep its focus narrow until demand for Palm devices picks up substantially. At least they’re being honest about it, right?
Some day, my Aussie friends, some day (heck, maybe sooner than these dour notes imply).
Thanks, Jason!
Comments
If Jason stops developing for webos, homebrew will have a huge gap that can't be filled. I already can't wait till my pre contract is up so I can get a android phone. Webos is losing steam and it'll end up being a niche phone.
I don't know which Jason you're talking about, but I'm the one mentioned in that article, and I haven't pushlished anything that I've coded (yet).
And I do have to say, with all due respect, it's customers like yourself that make it hard for Palm -- being so flippant and just following the latest fad doesn't help.
DONT WORRY!!!! you guys downin OZ will have acces to palm SOONER then you think!!!!!!!!
HSPA + is launching in canada in 2 weeks(nov 4) with bell.. SOOOOO basicly what that means ...
BEll is gona get the PIXI/palm pre 2 with SIM card with will be able to activate on any HSPA network . so aslong as OZ offers HSPA .. it wont be that long.
you might have to have your phone shiped down from where ever but hey it might be worth the full price!!! if your one of the only once with a GOOD palm device.
PS : pixi/pre 2 Expected for late Q1 early Q2
Droid here we come!
I shall ignore the generic fickle posts above.
I feel bad for all of those down under but it makes sense for Palm to not overstretch itself at present. Hopefully you guys can get hold of a Pre/Pixi yourself until Palm is in a position to move back into the region. Tough news though.
Uh how about getting the German O2 pre?? At least till an official on is there. Bet Rod has to be pissed about this...
We've already had Aussies over who couldn't buy the Pre unlocked at ANY price: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=1286511&p=-1#bottom
That my friends is salt in the wounds.
thats cause they on the CDMA Network , palm pre/pix are UNloackable right now
palm pre 2 will be on the new HSPA network , then they will be able to unlock them (cause they will be SIM cards tech )
Woa, palm only has 1000 employes, I knew it was a small company but not the small.
Woa, palm only has 1000 employes, I knew it was a small company but not the small.
Woa, palm only has 1000 employes, I knew it was a small company but not the small.
thats because PALm was both out by the guy who invented the Ipod + Bono (from U2 ) they fired 80% of thge palm staff and only hired and keep the young strait out of School Programers/desines
You guys do realise that Asia Pacific encompasses more than just Australia right?
Well, this is depressing. I understand Palm's need to focus on certain key markets, but after years of supporting Palm products (I've owned a T3, TX, Treo 750 and Centro) this is the thanks I get? Not cool, Palm, not cool at all.
Would you rather Palm overstretched and we were left with no Palm at all awesomo? You need a reality check instead of throwing your toys out of the pram.
I guess you misread my post. I did say that I understood Palm's decision to prioritise their efforts.
But hey, it doesn't make it any less disappointing for the rest of us here.
Once you went down the 'I owned Palm device x, y and z' route I started to duck. You might have started your comment in an understanding manner but you did not end it that way. However if you still insist that I simply don't get you then so be it. It won't be the last Internet 'misunderstanding' we ever see.
That's just outright stupid. It's not just Australia, it's ASIA as well, which is like one of the largest markets for mobile phones. People in Asia almost have 2 mobile phones per person there.
Your complete lack of understanding is the stupid thing.
Thanks for bringing intelligence to the table, then.
Doesn't seem to matter to Palm though.
Ed really did mess up.
This incredibly frustrating, I thought I'd be the first break my relationship with Palm.
Chris Short and DGOS ftw.
I've ordered an unlocked GSM Pre from Germany.
-- Rod Whitby
-- WebOS Internals and Preware Founder
-- Born and bred Australian, and still living in God's own country
Has anybody received an unlocked device and used it in Australia yet and care to share their experience?
Having seen devices available on eBay, I was thinking of doing the same, but am concerned that i'll run into unforseen issues. One of my worries is the relatively small quota that Australian telcos provide and the possible $$ that could result from the heavy data usage...
Tim Carroll has one arriving today, and he is going to test the meta-doctor on it (which will allow activation from wifi if the sim doesn't work, and will also fix the keyboard).
You'll be able to see it happen live in the #webos-internals IRC channel.
I'm also concerned about the data usage, and you can be sure I'll probably be making some patches to deal with this.
-- Rod
That is good to read. You are the savour of the Pre community in the region. Best of luck.
I though Australia and New Zealand were considered lower Europe. They should be eligible on that basis. ;-)
This is very sad. Palm still hasn't caught up to 2009 in regards to company structure and global distribution. They should not need local offices in Asia/Pacific for support.
At the very least, they should offer to sell the Pre directly to developers in Australia/NZ (and other unsupported regions) with some sort of fee to cover a support license and warranty.
It'd be slightly more expensive for the developer but they would at least be able to support Palm. Palm would get more developers (which are needed). Early adopters also won't miss out on Palm completely and look for alternatives.
I've been screaming and yelling at Palm for years, because they are not paying attention to the Asian market. I live in Indonesia, which is (and probably will always be) a developing country. Maybe Palm sees this and thinks that there is not much sales opportunity. But does Palm know that RIM's and Nokia's biggest sales are in Indonesia?
We got a lot of poor people in Indonesia, but we also got a lot of filthy rich people, who are willing to spend their money on gadgets. The iPhone 3G (not the 3Gs) is still selling for US$750 on contract. The very 1st Nokia E90 was sold for friggin' US$3500. It came down to $1300 very fast, but stayed there for months. The Blackberry Bold was at $800, but has been at $650 for a long time.
Palm has got new people working for them now. But if Palm is going to skip the Asia Pasific market, that means the marketing team is still as dumb as it was 10 years ago.
goenarso, I think you hit the nail on the head regarding their marketing team.
I can predict the following:
Palm will bring back the Pre late 2010 for the Asia/Pac region and it'll flop big time. They will pat themselves on the back for withdrawing from the Asia/Pac market in 2009 and see it as the right decision all along. Palm will fail to understand the obvious - people want the Pre and will pay for it now. Delaying the release indefinitely means you lose interest from the market segment who will pick up your device from the beginning and show all their friends - the early adopters.
Their marketing is terrible. We get the creepy Pre chick on the commercials here in the U.S. which does pretty much zero to drum up interest.
What does Motorola do? They come out with a brilliant Droid commercial that slams the iPhone and brings a lot of attention to the Motorola product.
@ caldazar
You're on the money there! This is the story of Palm in Australia, for eg:
Centro: late, san 3G only on Telstra = recipe for failure. "Oh no they don't like Palm down there."
GAAHH!!!! Over and over again.
Though the management line up gives me hope that one day when they have enough coin, they can come back in force. Maybe they pulled out because they didn't have the cash to launch strong...
Well thats a real shame... as an Australian who was up for platform jumping... I guess I will be holding onto my iPhone for some time longer. I am currently in Germany for the next three days though... if anyone wants an unlocked Pre :P I'm still on contract for a year, and really want a data plan if I'm having WebOS
should we all use twitter and let palm know how badly we want the pre in Asia Pacific?
I'm currently in Hong Kong and I'm hoping somebody will import a few to sell there (with a qwerty keyboard). It's such a shame that I'm no longer in the UK on O2....I would gladly pay 40pounds a month for that damn pre.
Totally agree!
My limited efforts to talk to senior management over there of course were filtered. My fear here though is that some marketing or PR company are doing the tweeting as well, so there'll be no point.
Hey c'mon precentral this is old news y'all
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pre/201710-palm-wont-australia-months....
This is all a bit depressing really...had been really looking to the Pre since CES..but now as an Australian am starting to feel somewhat rejected!
Many of us loyal Palm fan boys down here are feeling left out in the cold that's for sure...
After listening to the last podcast too re: issues with Web OS I'm starting to wonder whether we may as well just migrate with the masses to the iPhone platform...and that after years of waiting for Palms next big thing..
it's not something I want to do...but Palm, it appears, are virtually saying to us...
'choose another smartphone platform...the Pre is now a device exclusively for Americans and Europeans..and we're going to ensure our qwerty phones are locked to their networks and carriers...'
tis a sad sad week for those of us who still had a place for Palm in the heart!
oh Palm...say it aint so...fair dinkum...give us a go!
I totally agree! I've had an iPhone for about a year and a half, but as every other man and his dog had one I really wanted to support the underdog and give Palm a go... but reading this news makes me give up hope a bit and I think is telling Australians to invest in their competitors, unfortunately. I was wanting to get my partner a Pixi and myself a Pre with a nice touchstone at home. Oh well, at least theyre honest... but it might be time to further invest in iPhone world....
@caldazar
That is exactly what happened to the iPhone. Apple is bragging about how big the iPhone's success is in the US. It is not as big in Asia however. Why? Because Apple make us drool over something for too long. Indonesia didn't get the iPhone until this year, and we are still on the 3G.
How many iPhone 3Gs did they sell in US in the 1st month? 1 million? Big friggin' deal. Nokia and RIM sell at least a million phones a month each in Indonesia alone. And Indonesia is only a small part of Asia. And Palm is saying that Asia Pacific is not their main concern? No offence to the European market, but it is not as big as the Asian Pacific.
Like ToniCripiani said, it is very common for people in Asia to carry 2 mobile phones. Heck, a lot of my friends carry 3 or 4 mobile phones with them.
Bitterly, bitterly disappointed...
For two years I've waited since my Treo went kaput for Palm to be my savior again...
...alas it will not happen now. This may well be the nail that ends my love affair with palm. To be told you are not as important as Europeans and Americans feels almost condescending. almost like another 100 years of humiliation.
"Do not discount the possibility..." is that supposed to make us feel better? It basically means we don't even pretend Asia matters and so you'll have to wait for the colonial masters to come plant their flag again.
If there was no intention to market the Pre in Asia, then why put it up on all the Palm websites in Asia? Do you just feel like showing it off only to tell them that only Americans and europeans get to enjoy it?
First we see the CDMA version which most of Asia does not use...so we wait. Then u tell us the GSM version is coming... so we wait some more. The u tell us its coming out in europe... so we still wait some more. Now u tell us its not even coming out in Asia.. Cmon Palm, what did Asia ever do to you?
At the very least palm should be apologetic for not being 100% truthful. If Asia was never your plans... then say so from the beginning. Don't let us in Asia be strung along for the ride and discarded when it no longer fits your plans.
I can only echo the same sentiments as my fellow Australians. After waiting with wild anticipation for the best part of 10 months it's 'Game Over' for Palm. Looks like Australia has become iPhone country.
Perhaps the telcos in Oz are doing so well with the iPhone that they just don't want to muddy the waters with the Pre...? After all, if the general population think iPhone when they want a smartphone then why start sending mixed messages. I cant abide by this but it would make corporate sense.
AsiaPac used to lead the world in mobile phone technology. It still does in some respects. Especially in Korea with mobile TV.
The Treo 680 is going to receive a well deserved farewell... might even keep the ashes... oh, and screw you Palm. If you're not bring the Pre to OZ, then get it off the Australian Palm web site.
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