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Topic: Amazon

Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

Summary: Amazon has slashed the price of the Palm Pre to $79.99 with a two-year contract from Sprint.

Andrew Nusca

By for The ToyBox |

Amazon has slashed the price of the Palm Pre to $79.99 with a two-year contract from Sprint.

The retailer is also offering free activation of the phone.

Leaving no stone unturned, the retailer also slashed the price of the brand-new Pixi handset to just $24.99, also with free activation.

(Sprint sells the Pre for $149.99 and the Pixi for $99.99.)

But is it enough to save Palm?

The Pre was once a top-flight premium phone, but its price point is exposing how quickly Palm's devices are sliding in the marketplace. if a fair price is what the market will bear, then the market isn't very enthused about Palm's devices.

Will these prices be enough to move more Pre and Pixi units? Or does Palm need more carriers and more phones to compete?

Topics: Amazon, Hardware, Mobility, Smartphones

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17 comments
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  • I don't want ......

    ANY misleading bargain with a two or three year contract. Sell me the HW at a fair price and let me select the carrier and package of my choice.

    I am not an idiot.
    Economister
    Reply Vote

    • Do you realize that the carriers

      do not all use the same cellular technology?
      GoPower
      Reply Vote

      • And your point is? (nt)

        nt
        fairportfan
        Reply Vote

    • Cell carrier device subsidy

      The cell carriers have the hardware subsidy built in to their monthly pricing. There are both positive and negative effects of the subsidy model, however it would be silly not to take advantage of the payout as frequently as possible. One great thing is that it leads to faster turnover in devices. Without that dynamic, phones would probably evolve much more slowly.

      That said, I would much rather there be easier carrier portability. But I'm lucky that I chose Sprint long ago - the best rates, Internet data, coverage range (including roaming on Verizon for voice and data), and customer service / policies.

      And I love my Palm Pre. Only the new Androids have much of an interest for me. I am ready to develop for WebOS, Android, and Blackberry. Not interested in the iPhone/Touch for now, too much headache.
      sdw@...
      Reply Vote

      • Yeah, good luck with that.

        [i]"Not interested in the iPhone/Touch for now, too much
        headache."[/i]

        From [i]Wired.com[/i]
        http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/11/android-fragmentation/

        Money quote: "Good news for Android fans, right? Not really, say
        some developers. [b]A slew of problems have made managing Android
        apps a 'nightmare,' "[/b]

        My personal fave: [i]"Apple maintains an iron grip on what they do and
        there?s an advantage to that,? says Kelly Schrock, owner of Fognl,
        which has three apps on the Android market. ?IPhone developers don?t
        have to worry about fragmentation and creating apps for the iPhone is
        much easier.?[/i]
        matthew_maurice
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

    When you limit the carrier to one peticular organization I would not buy unless it was verizon wireless, I don't want sprint or At&t

    so don't limit who can use what carrier
    jcovert@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

    I've been a Palm device devotee for years and am impressed with the Pre. Unfortunately, its value to me is undermined by the fact it is not available for the AT&T network which I am constrained to use.
    chucksmi51
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

    I sold my Sprint stock and my Palm stock months ago.
    jimgetten@...
    Reply Vote

    • any ideas on upgrading instead of new contract?

      sorry for replying to your message, but for some reason the reply to message link has never worked on this website on any of my 5 computers...

      My wife wants this phone, but I don't want to have to get 2 differrent sprint accounts... also means she would have to change her cell# ???

      doesn't make sense that it has to be a new contract, as sprint does the upgrade discount at the same $$$ as the new contract discount...
      aiellenon
      Reply Vote

      • spoke w sprint rep...

        they said Sprint would not be matching this price as Amazon is a 3rd party and controls their own pricing.
        I have a feeling the Pre will drop in price some more. I would like to pick up 2 myself but don't want to shell out the initial $250 per phone (before mir). They should've sold me the 2 phones at $80. Then I would be locked to them for another 2 years. As it stands I am out of contract next month.
        Chris Z
        Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

    Price cutting is always a lazy sales technique. Having spent time as a sales person for technology related products, it is easy to cut your price to make the sale. This is a bad technique when you are making money by commission. Intelligent, consultative sales people know how to sell the benefits.

    I have been a Palm fan for many years and I think that the Amazon price cut is bad for Palm. Palm needs to open up to the other CDMA carriers and release a GSM version if it expects to maintain the progress they have made in the marketplace with webOS. Palm truly pioneered the mobile handheld usability model (No Apple Newton whining please). I sincerely wish them success.
    griffariff
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

    So long as I'd have to commit to Sprint's lack of Customer
    Service for 2 years, that phone is safely held in the retailer's
    hand.

    Reality: Phones can and SHOULD be mini computers. In the
    next gen, I expect to see an interface to allow them to work
    with a bigger touch screen for in the car, etc. So something
    stuck with presets and limited apps is going to fade.
    SpectreWriter
    Reply Vote

  • Why would anbody buy one?

    Even at that price, I don't really get it.

    All the iPhone haters complain about AT&T, so why doesn't anyone mention Sprint when they talk about the Pre? It came out way too late to garner any market share, and then joining with a provider that has a low share of the market made it a lose-lose situation. They might as well give them away for free with a 2-year contract.
    jh7468@...
    Reply Vote

    • Better coverage in many areas

      Where I live, Sprint's data coverage is better than AT&T's in some areas. I'd really like to have a Pre using Verizon's network.
      WiredGuy
      Reply Vote

  • Want Pre, But Want Palm More

    The only reason I haven't jumped from the Palm Centro to the Palm pre is that they took away the features that made it a Palm device.

    My ONLY option to back up my address book is over the air, and I can't beam things to other Palm devices anymore.

    New toys = GOOD.
    Take away working features = BAD.

    Now I'm j ust waiting to see which comes first -- Palm pulls its head out and gives me back my Palm Desktop or Google G2 comes to Sprint.

    Until then, I pray my Palm Centro doesn't break.

    And I suppose I can check out the Pixi...

    skmpu@...
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

    Backing up your address book over the air is actually not a bad idea afterall. After making the switch from a Palm Treo 700p, it makes complete sense to be able to backup your Address book instantly, whenever and wherever you are; not just when you're connected to your desktop/laptop.

    However, beaming between Palm devices was a very nice feature. I wouldn't be surprised to see an app in the future that can wirelessly share the same info via bluetooth or wifi.

    Fortunately for you if you ever upgrade, Palm Centro batteries have been reported to work compatibly for the Palm Pre as well.



    zdnetviewer
    Reply Vote

  • RE: Amazon slashes price of Palm Pre to $79.99, Pixi to $24.99

    You must not get it because you don't own a Palm Pre. The Palm Pre is an amazing smartphone which has a ton of features right out of the box that the iPhone doesn't have. Kind of like the Droid commercial...iPhone can't do this and that. Interestingly, the Palm Pre can do this and that just as well.
    zdnetviewer
    Reply Vote
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