Best Buy created some hype around Palm's new webOS handset recently, offering a $100 instant rebate on the Palm Pre, rather than a mail-in one. Sprint also recently confirmed that the phone would be available no-contract for $549. Best Buy clearly wants to see customers picking up a plan with their Pre, listing a no-contract price of the new handset for a whopping $850, reports Gizmodo. Should this price remain on launch day, we wouldn't expect anyone to buy the phone outright from Big Blue.
Meanwhile, Gadget 37 reports that over 1000 Best Buy Mobile stores have been in "extensive training" for the new webOS handset (Sprint employees already have received training units). Scott Anderson, director of Best Buy Mobile, states that employees will be ready to configure the Palm Pre according to customers needs, trained in syncing e-mail accounts, setting up bluetooth, transferring over contacts from your old cellphone, and activating other services so you can be ready to go. So looks like you won't have to worry too much about your mom and grandpa when they go pick up their new Pre.
In addition, Boy Genius had a short interview with Anderson, who reports that stores will be initiating a "ticketing process" beginning June 6th, logging customer names to prioritize them for the next shipment. Every Best Buy Mobile store in the US will have the Pre for sale, but they expect inventory to be limited for the first 4-8 weeks.
Just yesterday, the Palm Pre was announced with a price of $299, before a $100 mail-in rebate. This brought a collective groan from smartphone users hoping to snag the webOS phone for under $200 without the hassle of filling out a form and waiting 8-10 weeks for a rebate cheque (if sent in at all). Best Buy has the answer, and will be selling the Pre for $200 including an instant rebate, rather than a mail-in one.
Getting an instant rebate would leave you with more than enough cash to pick up the inductive Touchstone dock for $69.99. "Just buy your Pre at the Big Blue, and save yourself the pain", Gizmodo states. With this, the Pre lines up with the 8GB iPhone 3G price of $199. The device will be available throughout Best Buy Mobile stores, as well as Sprint, Radio Shack, and Wal-Mart stores, although you will have to jump through the rebate hoops with the rest.
Sprint has been busy preparing for the June 6th launch of the Pre, and with those like Nascar winner Tony Stewart partying with the Pre, now so too can loyal Sprint users, just in a slightly different way. Sprint Premier customers, which generally includes longtime or heavy Sprint users, are invited to an exclusive Palm Pre Launch Party in select cities on Friday, June 5th.
The "wireless event of the year" doesn't appear to spare any expenses, with customers invited to "mingle with celebs and enjoy hors d'oeuvres, wine and music while taking the Palm Pre for a spin". Space is limited, customers must RSVP by May 30 (click image for details).
Best of all, as promised, invitees will get the chance to purchase the new webOS handset before it hits the streets. Which would sure beat pitching a sleeping bag to overcome expected Pre shortages at launch. If you're a Premier member, have you gotten an invite, and are you planning to pick up your Pre at the event?
Sprint customer service has been taking queries in regards to the Palm Pre, and looks like those who can't or would rather not sign a contract can purchase the phone outright for $549, Engadget reports. The new webOS handset will sell for $199 after rebate with a plan, which is probably the route most will take, but at least we know how much your wallet will be dinged to break free of the usual 2-year handcuffs. Just remember to save $69.99 for the uber-cool touchstone charging dock.
Palm's new smartphone was the winner of Engadget's "Most Anticipated Gadget of 2009", and the webOS platform continues to receive widespread praise. Developers are also getting geared up for preDevCamp, a worldwide webOS app development event, although Apple's Developer Conference (WWDC) will come hot at the heels of the Pre on June 8th.
Earlier today, we reported on an official June 6 release date for the Pre. In addition to finally confirming a release date (previously rumored to be the weekend of June 5th), Sprint also disclosed pricing and availability details. As previously stated, the official price will be $199 on a two-year service agreement (on either an Everything or Business Essentials data plan). Also, because it's after a $100 mail-in rebate, you will need to pony up more up front.
The Pre will be available in Sprint stores, Best Buy, Radio Shack, select Wal-Mart stores and online. Dan Hesse , CEO of Sprint, had this to say about the fancy new webOS handset:
“The argument that you need one phone for work and another phone for play, or that you have to make compromises between business and lifestyle productivity, is over...with Pre, compromises of the past are history.”
Sprint is definitely not taking the launch lightly, and in addition to providing a training unit to each store advocate to brush up on webOS, retail stores will be closing early at 4:00pm on Friday, June 5th, reports Boy Genius. Once all the fancy displays, demo units and other goodies have been prepared, stores will open early at 8:00am the next day to dish out the Pre phones. More info after the break.
Announced early this morning on the official Palm blog -
Sprint has announced today that the Palm Pre will be available on June 6. Sprint announced that it will be available nationwide in Sprint stores, as well as at Best Buy, Radio Shack, and select Wal-Mart stores. The webOS-based phone will retail for $199.99 (after rebate and service agreement).
If you read the small print at the bottom of the announcement, an unlimited data plan will be required for use with the phone, as many people suspected. It doesn't seem as though Sprint has updated their current data plans or developed new ones exclusively for the Pre. The Pre section of the Sprint site hasn't been updated with any new information as of 10AM (EST) this morning.
So do you think it was an accident or convenient coincidence that it is being released on D-Day?
Looks like webOS training has taken the next big step for Sprint employees, and a rumored June 7th release date is seeming that much closer. Several pics were apparently taken from the back of Sprint retail stores, reports Gizmodo. Another article by PreCentral provides an additional in-store photo, and reports that the device is designated for a Palm Pre Advocate, the person training to be the expert for each respective location.
IntoMobile adds that these demo units are "under strict lockdown" and come packaged in Palm Pre retail boxes, as we've seen earlier in unboxing pics and video. As such, the employees' faces have since been blurred out (after the leak, unfortunately) in an effort to protect their identities.
Looks like Sprint and Palm are hitting up all the angles in their marketing campaign for Palm's new webOS handset. So it was only a matter of time before ads came to your mailbox (rather than your inbox). After all, not everyone's mom and grandpa will check their spam folder in case any of Sprint's e-mails ended up in there.
In addition, a new Palm Pre unboxing video has surfaced, apparently flying under the radar until the recent leaked unboxing photos got people looking for more. Although we're unsure if this is the final box you will get (the video was filmed in January), the good news is that it actually contains a real, working Pre.
Looks like the preview of the Pre packaging and print materials yesterday has revealed some details regarding data migration to webOS, FCC, and earpiece compatibility with hearing aids, reports a forum member and article on Precentral. While nothing groundbreaking was found in the fine print, a few interesting points were noted:
The Palm Pre SKU is is PALM100HK, suggesting that this link will take you to the Pre once it is released on Sprint.
Data migration will be handled through your Palm Profile. Once your profile is verified through e-mail, a link will take you to a website where you can transfer data from other sources such as Palm Desktop and Outlook. You can only do this once, and it transfers your old Palm smartphone data to your Pre.
Palm's FCC Grantee Code is O8F, and on the side of the box it reads "FCC Equipment Authorization ID number: O8F-CASC". Therefore, the Pre has now suitably passed FCC testing (earlier rumors suggested it was not yet approved).
The Pre earpiece is rated M4 for hearing aids. "M" denotes microphone, while 4 is the highest rating. This means that in the standard microphone setting, the phone should be compatible with most hearing aids. However, the Pre won't support Telecoil (a "T" rating), so those who require a T-coil, or when not in microphone mode, may only hear a loud buzzing noise.
Palm News and Rumors
Best Buy created some hype around Palm's new webOS handset recently, offering a $100 instant rebate on the Palm Pre, rather than a mail-in one. Sprint also recently confirmed that the phone would be available no-contract for $549. Best Buy clearly wants to see customers picking up a plan with their Pre, listing a no-contract price of the new handset for a whopping $850, reports Gizmodo. Should this price remain on launch day, we wouldn't expect anyone to buy the phone outright from Big Blue.
