Palm Pre Draws Crowds, but Less Hubbub Than iPhone

Lines for the new pre-Palm was much shorter than that snaked around Apple stores in his first extremely popular iPhone two years ago, but many consumers felt that they were ready for a new product.
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Topics: Palm Inc.

In the pre-Palm smartphone is considered the best chance to claw back market share from the Apple iPhone and BlackBerry at Research In Motion. It meets the rave reviews, and analysts are carefully watching how the phone helps both Palm and Sprint Nextel.

"I wish them the killer iPhone. I look forward to this for some time," said Peter Lewis, who bought the phone for himself and his wife at the Sprint store in Chicago, where about 45 people were in line when the doors opened at 8 o'clock in the morning Saturday.

"This is my gift to me," said Wilma Rivera, 36, a heating technique, which was at Sprint in the flagship store in Manhattan.

Ms. Rivera, a longtime Palm user, said that although she was tempted in the iPhone, sold only to AT & T in the United States, she "never wanted to leave Sprint."

Sprint, № 3 mobile carrier, is based on a preliminary help stop the defections, and win back customers from competitors, including AT & T and Verizon Wireless.

Jennifer Walsh Keifer, said a sprint, said late Saturday that Sprint was sold out of pre-phones in several locations across the country, and that the company is doing everything possible to replenish stores.

Pre-pressing is on the shelves just before Apple is widely expected to announce a new iPhone on June 8.

In the pre-cost $ 199.99, after $ 100 discount to customers who signed a two-year service contract. These prices are in line with $ 199 less than the power of iPhone. Pre-monthly fee of $ 69.99, including unlimited text messaging, which is lower than the cost of iPhone service plans with similar features.

Palm investors waited for the new mobile platform in June 2007, when Elevation Partners took a $ 325 million, 25 percent of the shares in Palm.

Sprint hopes to attract corporate clients, but pre-hard times may have to do strides often conservative corporate technology departments.