Comments on: Verizon Orders 400,000 Palm Smartphones?

Rumour:A brief two-sentence post over at The Boy Genius Report claims today that Palm's two webOS handsets, the Pre and the Pixi, are "beginning to appear" in Verizon's inventory system, with Big Red having ordered 200,000 units of each model. For the mathematically-challenged, that means they'll have 400,000 in total ready to unload.

The question this raises, of course, is whether this is good news or bad? Given that Palm and webOS were both hyped (mainly by an excitable tech press) as giant-slayers after their initial introduction, an order of this relatively small size could indicate Verizon does not share those expectations and isn't planning to promote Palm's new babies on the same level as their New Sensation, the Android-powered Motorola Droid - despite apparently getting upgraded models. Of course, it could also just mean that they're being cautious. We'll have to see how it plays out once the expected CES announcement is made...

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changewave survey

nastebu @ 1/5/2010 4:22:12 AM # Q
Here's some evidence for the negative interpretation. This survey was cited on MacRumors for showing that Android is gaining mindshare. In September 09 only 6% of likely smartphone buyers were planning on Android phones. Now it's 21%

The bad news is some of that came out of Palm's share. In Sept. 09 6% were planning on buying Palm phones. That's now at 3%

Bad news especially since Palm doesn't seem to have much in the pipeline to reverse the momentum, and Google most certainly does.

RE: changewave survey
nastebu @ 1/5/2010 4:22:44 AM # Q
RE: changewave survey
freakout @ 1/5/2010 4:30:36 AM # Q
^^ Um. Look at the top story on the homepage. :P
Tim
Sometime PIC blogger
Treo 270 -> Treo 650 -> Treo 680 -> Centro -> Pre
I apologise for any and all emoticons in my posts. You may shoot them on sight.
RE: changewave survey
jca666us @ 1/5/2010 6:14:39 AM # Q
freak,

doesnt change the fact that webos is tanking.

adding the 400,000 ordered by verizon, does it mean they've hit 1 million in sales yet?

RE: changewave survey
nastebu @ 1/5/2010 7:21:27 AM # Q
Ooops. I swear! It wasn't there when I posted!
RE: changewave survey
SeldomVisitor @ 1/5/2010 7:24:22 AM # Q
Considering Sprint has a couple hundred thousand Pres/Pixis still to sell, I personally would not say Verizon's order "adds" to the order count; instead, it IS the order count.


RE: changewave survey
hkklife @ 1/5/2010 9:06:27 AM # Q
Not to toot my horn, but a fair number of friends/colleagues/clients of mine look to me for smartphone/tech recommendations (and support, inevitably).

Off the top of my head, I know that a good half-dozen (possibly more) long-time VZW users who were ready to switch to the Pre in the immediate aftermath of CES and its June launch on Sprint. They loved the concept of the removable battery, slider formfactor, and the general good feelings from past Palm devices and/or having an "iPhone type device on Verizon".

Yet no one wanted a WebOS device THAT badly to switch to Sprint. One guy went with a BB Tour. Another stuck with his old Centro, while his wife got a Droid. Another one got a Droid Eris and one more got a Droid. I even caved in and got a Droid on launch day to compliment (not replace) my Treo 755p for the time being. I think one other person actually jumped ship for a $99 iPhone.

But, the quick & dirty moral of this story is that: A number of VZW users were willing to give Palm a chance in 2009. Very few people were willing to switch to Sprint to get a Pre or Pixi. Verizon's all behind Android now. I am honestly surprised that they are ordering ANY Pixi or Pre! Palm's obsession with sticking with Sprint may have been annoying in years past but not it could seriously have been the back-breaking straw for the company. Palm should have hit the ground running in summer '09 with (at minimum) a CDMA Pre on Sprint AND an unlocked GSM version.
Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid

RE: changewave survey
LiveFaith @ 1/5/2010 6:55:10 PM # Q
Toot it Khris! I love your predictions and recommendations. Like my product spy shots, they never come true, but still should!

U R everywhere man. I saw you post over on the Eee PC forums the other day. Wondering if I should upgrade my 1008 to Win 7 or not.

If ATT brings the GSM in early 10' as predicted, then I'll go with the Pre. But only b/c the HD2 is going to worthless (down here in the sticks) T-Mobile.
Pat Horne

RE: changewave survey
hkklife @ 1/5/2010 8:45:45 PM # Q
Pat;

Definitely upgrade if you plan on keeping it. Or could you pass the 1008 down to one of your young'uns and get a new Pinetrail Atom w/ 7 standard for yourself?

I had 7 on my 1000HE briefly and was a nice improvement. But I'd recommend sticking a 2gb SODIMM into the 1008 if ya haven't already. Also, make sure you flash it to the latest BIOS to ensure maximum 7-compliance. I've actually gone the CULV route and put my EEE on the shelf, with no regrets at all.


Pilot 1000->Pilot 5000->PalmPilot Pro->IIIe->Vx->m505->T|T->T|T2->T|C->T|T3->T|T5->Zodiac 2->TX->Verizon Treo 700P->Verizon Treo 755p->Verizon Moto Droid

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AT&T says they'll 'support' two WebOS devices

SeldomVisitor @ 1/6/2010 10:50:52 AM # Q
That's an unusual way to say "carry", if they mean "carry".

Announced at CES presentation 20 minutes ago or so.

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