Palm: ‘We Can’t Afford to Sell the Pre to the Wrong Customers’
Posted in: leak, Phones, pre, Today's Chili
Oh Palm. If you’re going to badmouth potential customers in your secret documents, at least keep them, y’know, secret. The above statement is one of many juicy tidbits inside the Pre Business Launch Guide, a 22-page document “leaked in its entirety” this weekend.
The document reveals Palm’s plans for domination of the business world, its traditional marketplace. Sample points taken from the manual:
- The device can be supported by existing IT infrastructure and will make many IT managers’ standards list.
- [Non-Palm] charging solutions may not work properly.
- Due to anticipated high demand, employee availability will delayed to first meet the needs of our customers.
- The sealed form factor of the device makes repairs challenging and the potential for damage is significant.
- Palm ® Pre™ Smokes the Competition
(This last point is to be delivered with a high-five)
Price plans are equally detailed, running from $70 per month for 400 minutes (on a shared plan) or 450 minutes (individual plan), topping out at a reasonable $100 for the individual “Simply Everything” plan which includes unlimited talk time. Like the iPhone, you will have to buy some kind of data plan as “legacy plans” are prohibited.
In addition, corporate switchers coming from other carriers may be eligible for a $100 credit on service, which isn’t a bad way to tempt people across.
Also revealed are prices for accessories. The Touchstone and car-charger we have seen already, but now we know that the Premium Holster (a fashion disaster that could only be loved by the be-suited exec) will cost $32, the micro-USB travel charger will be $35, the Leather Pouch $40 and phone covers will start at $30.
There’s more. We already know about the official launch on June 6th, but there are a few other secret and exclusive events. On Friday 5th June, there will be a New York Executive Breakfast along with various Sprint promos in “10 Flagship Stores” and an invite-only “VIP Event”. On the 3rd, we’ll see a “Hollywood Event”.
And the statement in the title? That’s one of the best parts of the whole document. The text appears in big pink lettering on page 11 of the guide, which explains the the Pre is not for everyone. Titled “Sell the Palm Pre to the Right Customer”, the official line is that the Pre is “best suited for non-IT Centric business users.” That sounds to us like the Pre isn’t up to the job of being a proper business smartphone, and it’s for the exact same reason that the iPhone was a hopeless business phone on launch — web apps.
The Pre can’t run proper applications, instead using the WebOS, essentially a way to run web pages locally using javascript and CSS. Rememeber the iPhone’s web apps? This is the same kind of thing, albeit with local storage for offline use. Palm admits as much. The questionnaire reads thus:
- Does your company have specific application requirements?
- Does your line of business require specific product features on mobile devices?
- If YES, then the Treo Pro is your best mobile device option
Yes. According to Palm, if you are a business customer, you should buy the Treo. The Pre, the much-hyped Palm-saviour, is not good enough for you. Full marks to Palm for being honest, but this is a somewhat suicidal statement given the company’s precarious position. It hurts me to do this as I’d love to see the Pre succeed, but I predict a big fat fail. The Pre is no more an iPhone killer than the Zune was an iPod killer. There will be a big bang on the opening weekend followed by a slow and quiet spiral into obscurity.
Sprint’s Pre business launch guide leaked in its entirety [Engadget]
Apple has finally approved the gorgeous-looking e-book reader, Eucalyptus, for the iTunes App Store. The application was previously banned for pornographic reasons: not because it contained objectionable material but because it could be used to download the Kama Sutra, an ancient text which acts as a manual for living a good and full life.
