Sprint and Palm have officially announced the release of the Palm Pre for June 6, starting at $200 after contract and the included $100 rebate. If you’re worried you won’t be able to get Palm’s new beauty in your area, fret no more. The phone is being sold nationwide starting on the 6th and will be sold in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, and even some Wal-Marts.
So what do you think of the date? It’s a Saturday for starters, which could mean both the manufacturer and the service provider are hoping for big weekend sales. It’s also two days before Apple’s Keynote Presentation at WWDC where it’s no secret people will be waiting for a very special iPhone announcement. I suppose if you have some sort of buying disorder you might not want to want two days.
To me it seems like Palm must be a little uneasy about the iPhone refresh. It would be so easy to wait a few days, or even a week, and then pitch the Pre against the iPhone’s shortcomings, like running background apps. They may be planning to do that anyway, but then why have an understated launch 2 days before a potential boon for Apple sales.
Truth is, I think we all know the iPhone isn’t going anywhere, and pitching the Pre as an “iPhone-killer” would likely turn Palm’s blade against themselves. I’d say the best they can hope for is a load of sales because their device is something different. If we’re lucky, the competition, meager as it may be, will push Apple to improve the product the world loves.
According to Sony CFO Nobuyuki Oneda, the cost of Sony’s Playstation 3 is still 10% higher than the price. In the US that means Sony is losing $40 on every PS3 they sell. It’s certainly no secret that consoles typically follow this pricing pattern on launch, but to still be losing after two and a half years is surprising.