Palm Pre sets record sales on Sprint – should RIM care?

Within hours of offering the Palm Pre, Sprint set a record sales debut. By late Sunday, the Palm Pre had broken previous sales records (first day and first weekend) for a Sprint device.

“Sprint is a very different company than it was 12 months ago,” said Dan Hesse, president and chief executive officer. “Palm Pre is the coming out party for the new Sprint. It is the perfect device that highlights all of the positive changes in our company, including our revolutionary Ready Now retail store experience, greatly improved customer care, unmatched value pricing plans and America’s most dependable 3G network.”

Palm was a focal point of discussion at the WES 2009 panel: Top 3 Predictions for BlackBerry. Some suggested Palm is a threat, and therefore a potential acquisition for RIM. Others argued that the Pre, while an interesting device, is not enough to save the company.

In fact, both Sprint and Palm have been dodging financial bad press over the past few quarters. Sprint has had a plethora of layoffs and news surrounding a complete downsizing. Palm has been hemorrhaging money for years and they have been producing very little to make up for it.

Overall, the Palm Pre is making a great impression on potential buyers, but its user base is predominantly consumers. While RIM is seeing a larger consumer market share, it is still the leader in enterprise hardware. If the Palm Pre is going to shake up RIM, they should provide a more convincing solution on the enterprise level.

What do you think? Will the Palm Pre make a dent in RIM’s market share?

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http://www.rimarkable.com/ Robb

I think RIM should care. Unlike the iPhone, the Pre is a device with both a touch screen and a keyboard. Something RIM should have come out with a while ago.

The Pre may be able to pull Sprint BlackBerry users that want something newer than the BlackBerry Curve.
http://www.rimarkable.com Robb

I think RIM should care. Unlike the iPhone, the Pre is a device with both a touch screen and a keyboard. Something RIM should have come out with a while ago.

The Pre may be able to pull Sprint BlackBerry users that want something newer than the BlackBerry Curve.
BBOY

Oh yeah, they should care. Yes they’re doing ok for now, but with devices like the iPhone, Pre, and even some of the HTC Windows Mobile phones out there, the Blackberry OS and way it gets stuff done is looking clunky and obsolete. In fact, I am DUMPING my 8830 when my contract is up and am going to give all of the aforementioned phones a good look. Goodbye BB!
BBOY

Oh yeah, they should care. Yes they’re doing ok for now, but with devices like the iPhone, Pre, and even some of the HTC Windows Mobile phones out there, the Blackberry OS and way it gets stuff done is looking clunky and obsolete. In fact, I am DUMPING my 8830 when my contract is up and am going to give all of the aforementioned phones a good look. Goodbye BB!
http://www.austindev.com/ Chris K

I think RIM should care a lot. Palm was at one point “the” smart phone company, and they did well. They have made some bad decisions lately, but I think that WebOS will pull them back out. I’ve used several Blackberries over the years, and while they were good, I think that WebOS will be the winner (yes, it’s a 1.0 release now, but over time I think that it will become a solid platform).
http://www.austindev.com Chris K

I think RIM should care a lot. Palm was at one point “the” smart phone company, and they did well. They have made some bad decisions lately, but I think that WebOS will pull them back out. I’ve used several Blackberries over the years, and while they were good, I think that WebOS will be the winner (yes, it’s a 1.0 release now, but over time I think that it will become a solid platform).
http://www.port3101.org/ Si

You bunch of rookies!!! Should RIM care – NO. Why you ask – because BlackBerry is more than a device, it’s a complete end to end solution. Palm is just a device and nothing more (from a company that re-finances every 5 minutes). RIM have nothing to worry about here (not that anyone should be complacent in this market I hasten to add).
http://www.port3101.org Si

You bunch of rookies!!! Should RIM care – NO. Why you ask – because BlackBerry is more than a device, it’s a complete end to end solution. Palm is just a device and nothing more (from a company that re-finances every 5 minutes). RIM have nothing to worry about here (not that anyone should be complacent in this market I hasten to add).
Ken Miller

I went from a Treo to STORM. Biggest reason Palm had gotten rid of grafetti and the screen was to small, plus the 2.5mm plug failed. BTW still use a lifedrive, so if Palm ever made a phone in that form factor with graffetti include, would buy it. Till them I will use Blackberry and Storm.
Ken Miller

I went from a Treo to STORM. Biggest reason Palm had gotten rid of grafetti and the screen was to small, plus the 2.5mm plug failed. BTW still use a lifedrive, so if Palm ever made a phone in that form factor with graffetti include, would buy it. Till them I will use Blackberry and Storm.
http://twitter.com/JennaGlynn/statuses/2089365709 JennaGlynn (Jenna Glynn)

“Palm Pre is the coming out party for the new Sprint” http://tinyurl.com/m5lsrr
Jeremy

Yes, RIM should be worried. As an IT admin, I work with RIM and BES servers constantly. The biggest problem I find with Blackberry is that there are too many points of failure. With Exchange ActiveSync, we essentially eliminate the RIM point of failure. And what’s the point of having to pay more for the data plans? I pay 99 a month with Sprint and have everything set up on my corporate email with no extra charges… Blackberry… You pay for your plan, and then another 30-40 bucks a month to be able to synchronize contacts and calendar with the provider data plan… EXPENSIVE. As of now, I own the Pre, and I have to say, Pre vs Blackberry, Pre wins. Ease of setup for corporate email, full fledge web browsing (flash is coming!), awesome capability of calendar and contacts… there is nothing missing from this phone from a corporate aspect that I can find, and it’s very user friendly. Not to mention, it’s able to easily separate email accounts and supports calendars and contacts from multiple personal and corporate sources simultaneously. However, with all new technology, only time will tell.
Jeremy

Yes, RIM should be worried. As an IT admin, I work with RIM and BES servers constantly. The biggest problem I find with Blackberry is that there are too many points of failure. With Exchange ActiveSync, we essentially eliminate the RIM point of failure. And what’s the point of having to pay more for the data plans? I pay 99 a month with Sprint and have everything set up on my corporate email with no extra charges… Blackberry… You pay for your plan, and then another 30-40 bucks a month to be able to synchronize contacts and calendar with the provider data plan… EXPENSIVE. As of now, I own the Pre, and I have to say, Pre vs Blackberry, Pre wins. Ease of setup for corporate email, full fledge web browsing (flash is coming!), awesome capability of calendar and contacts… there is nothing missing from this phone from a corporate aspect that I can find, and it’s very user friendly. Not to mention, it’s able to easily separate email accounts and supports calendars and contacts from multiple personal and corporate sources simultaneously. However, with all new technology, only time will tell.
Joe K

I love my curve! I can’t imagine living my life without my blackberry. I use it for everything…work email, personal email, music, pictures, web browsing…etc… However, I’m seriously considering the Pre. Most of my friends and family have BBs. All but one of them are considering the Pre.
Joe K

I love my curve! I can’t imagine living my life without my blackberry. I use it for everything…work email, personal email, music, pictures, web browsing…etc… However, I’m seriously considering the Pre. Most of my friends and family have BBs. All but one of them are considering the Pre.

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