* Pre-Sprint hopes will win back market share
* A small nation, New York, Chicago and San Francisco (Add a comment on the sales of phones, para 8)
By Sinead Carew and Jessica Wohl
New York / Chicago, June 6 (Reuters) - The small crowd gathered on Saturday at the official pre-launch, smartphone Palm Inc regarded as the best chance to claw back market share from Apple Inc in the iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd's (RIM.TO) Blackberry .
The new high-end phone is seen as a key product for the Palm (PALM.O) and Sprint Nextel (SN), was greeted by rave reviews. [ID: nN04319543]
The lines were much shorter than that snaked around the Apple (AAPL.O) stores in its first very popular iPhone two years ago, but many consumers felt that they were ready for a new product.
"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 am
"This is my gift to me," said Wilma Rivera, 36, a heating technique, which brought her 17-month-old daughter at Sprint in the flagship store in Manhattan.
Rivera, a long time Palm user, said that although she was tempted iPhone, sold only to AT & T Inc (TN) in the United States, she "never wanted to leave Sprint."
Sprint, № 3 U.S. mobile phone, it depends on the prior help stop the defections, and win back subscribers from competitors such as AT & T and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications (VZ.N) and Vodafone Group Plc (VOD.L). [ID: nN05293971]
Sprint said Jennifer Walsh Keifer said late Saturday that Sprint was sold out of pre-phones in various 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. [ID: nN04244490]
Price and keyboard
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.
"It's always nice to see a bunch of people waiting for a product you worked on," Chairman of the Executive Palm Jon Rubinstein, former Executive Apple, which helped create the IPod, said at the Sprint store in San Francisco financial district, where more than a dozen people lined up to Pre-buy.
He said that the opportunity for smartphones has been large enough to sustain the market for a period of three to five successful sellers.
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