Sprint: Not Enough Pres For Launch Demand

Palm Pre.According to Sprint CEO Dan Heese, there just won’t be enough Palm Pre’s to meet demand at the device’s launch. Obviously he’s chosen his words carefully, suggesting there’s going to be massive demand for the Pre, or maybe Palm just hasn’t made very many of them. Either way, the company is throwing all of their chips in on this phone, and rightly so. Without it, Palm’s doomed.

I’d like to think the Pre will be successful, but it’s going to be a tough sell. Sure, it looks like a great phone, and a lot of people are excited about it, but who will buy it? Sprint customers are a great place to start, but that means no growth for the wireless provider. The loyal Palm users are another likely demographic, but that doesn’t get a great device in the hands of new users. Your final hope is first-time smartphone users, assuming they can be lured from the iPhone or a Blackberry, both of which are potentially cheaper than the Pre.

Source: Reuters