Did Sprint and Palm mis-time the debut of the Palm Pre? There’s a lot riding on this smartphone device for both. So why debut it just a few days before the release of the latest iPhone, the iPhone 3Gs? Talk about ‘stealing some thunder.’ A quick Google news search for the Palm Pre today returned 1,943 articles. The iPhone 3Gs – 3,257. Not a scientific study by any stretch, but you get the idea.
It’s not just the ‘new’ iPhone 3Gs with its updated features, but the drop in price to $99 for the status quo iPhone. The combination of the two options is sure to make many a prospective Pre buyer pause. In this day and age, there’s never a perfect time to launch. But there are times when not to launch.
Maybe this was a calculated move by Palm and Sprint – they knew what was coming. But we certainly don’t get it. Why not move the release a month or so ahead of the new iPhone and ride that wave for a while? Maybe they hope to sleigh the dragon on the public stage. Seems like a risky bet. Whatever the reason, we’re left scratching our head.
