The latest in a string of rumors regarding price and release date are that Palm's webOS handset could launch on June 7th and cost as little as $150. The last word of a release date pegged it at May 17th, pieced together from leaked internal memos and a May 16th delivery date. The new release date rumor comes from a post at SprintGurus via Precentral, who posted an internal document (below) listing various Sprint handsets. In regards to the Pre, he states:
"Here is a listing of the handsets Sprint is currently testing in alpha/beta stages...For those asking about the Pre, there are 2 release windows, one is around 6/7/09 - the other I cannot say much on."
Moreover, EverythingPre reports that the first shipment of Palm Pre phones is rumored to have just left Hong Kong via UPS and en-route to Louisville, where it will be transferred to another location in preparation for reshipping. An early June release would probably give them enough time to properly distribute the phone among stores.
In terms of pricing, the previous speculation of a $299 price tag had some some editors crying foul, considering the lower-priced iPhone and G1 handsets with similarly-priced service plans. However, a lower price point could be quite possible according to The Street, who predict that the subsidized price may be as low as $150 to undercut the entry-level $199 iPhone model.
Also, earlier this week an article on tinycomb reports that a contact at Palm states in an e-mail, "we are 90% confirmed over here that we will be releasing the Pre for $150". Precentral also heard from a Sprint employee recently, who was told that the price for the Pre would be *very* competitive, which could suggest a $199 price point in staying in line with other smartphones. An article back in February suggests the Pre will be $150 after rebate, although to be fair it pegged the release date in February as well.
Rumors aside, will Sprint be able to afford to launch the Pre at $150? After all, Palm CEO Ed Colligan had stated in a conference that Palm wants to bring up gross margins. A new research study by iSuppli covered by BusinessWeek estimates that the Pre will cost around $138 to manufacture. While many variables are still unaccounted for, such as R&D and marketing, if you include software licensing and the like, the projected cost ends up at $170 or so. So selling the handset at a price point of $199 should certainly be doable.
So when do you expect the Pre to arrive, and what price do you expect it to be? The actual cost of the Pre probably isn't a deal-breaker for Sprint, Precentral notes, because they will make the money back from monthly plans anyway; it's up to Palm to make a profit when they sell it to Sprint. So both price and release date could primarily boil down to marketing.
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