Report: Palm Pre Sees Dreadful UK/IRL Sales

[JMcEntegart]

This time last year, the tech industry was buzzing about the Palm Pre. Palm had just announced the device at CES 2009 and the world was waiting for the WebOS-based phone to hit the market and take on the iPhone.

Report: Palm Pre Sees Dreadful UK/IRL Sales : Read more

 

[mfarrukh]

Pre and Pixi
Both are absolutly Great phones of Iphone, Droid, HD2, Nexus one and N900 class
They are just AWESOME

 

[jacobdrj]

I'll buy one when they offer one for my carrier... And it is under $200...

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Hardly surprising. People only really bought Pres because their networks didn't have the iPhone. O2 has offered the iPhone still launch and now most of the other UK networks are getting the iPhone too. Pretty much everyone I know is getting an iPhone when they're due a new phone upgrade. I've only ever heard or read about the Pre online. It may as well be vaporware here.

 

[omnimodis78]

Jane, you keep referring to Europe, and yet you're only providing stats on UK/IRL - surely you know that Europe is a continent currently made up of 50 countries, with the United Kingdom being one of those countries. How are the sales in Italy? Belgium? Hungary? Poland? Austria? France? Etc, etc...

 

[WheelsOfConfusion]

Am I the only one reminded of those Goode Olde Dayes during the seventies and eighties where computers were brand-specific hardware and software? Lots of regional differences in what machines were popular back then, too.
What's the Blackberry presence like across the pond?

 

[Spanky Deluxe]

Blackberries are still pretty prolithic, particularly among business users but their pull is definitely waning. My father-in-law-to-be recently got sent a new top spec Blackberry to replace his old one and wanted me to set it up for him. I couldn't help but think it felt so backward to use, like a phone from the early 2000s. He's happy though, no learning curve for him. I know a few people who have switched from Blackberry to iPhones but then I also know a couple of people who would rather die than switch from a Blackberry to an iPhone.

 

[Pei-chen]

[citation][nom]omnimodis78[/nom]Jane, you keep referring to Europe, and yet you're only providing stats on UK/IRL - surely you know that Europe is a continent currently made up of 50 countries, with the United Kingdom being one of those countries. How are the sales in Italy? Belgium? Hungary? Poland? Austria? France? Etc, etc...[/citation]
Jane is Irish so she knows Europe.

 

[chomlee]

I have a pre and I love it. Most people don't know this but last week Palm released several 3D games such as sims, golf, and need for speed undercover. I purchased golf and need for speed and found the graphics to be comparible to the psp (trully awesome for a phone). Hopefully that will help the sales of the pre.

 

[IzzyCraft]

IRL? In real life

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I wonder if the market is saturated. Perhaps we've reached the point of diminishing returns.

 

[JMcEntegart]

[citation][nom]IzzyCraft[/nom]IRL? In real life[/citation]

For real, yo.

 

[centra]

I gave up on the iphone, and went pre. At first it was questionable if Palm would come through, but at CES, they surprised us all with a number of new features. As for the UK, and I'll add Canada in there too, the APP STORE is still BETA, so we don't have the option of buying all the goodies that Americans have, but that will happen soon enough. GO PALM! The market is filled with so many phones and OS's these days, I'm not surprised to see low numbers. The iPhone wins hands down becuase (A) it was first to the table, (B) its Apple (gotta have one effect), and (C) the sheer number of available APPS, etc. Pretty hard to cut into that market.

 

[Guest]

So many people have iPhones/ apple products around here, its so stupid, like nothing else exists. Heck, people switch up and change contracts to get iPhones so fast, like it's a live or die thing. I'd guess maybe a 1/5 or maybe even 1/4 people have an iPhone, where i am. It's good and all, but sheesh. Have some variety! If i needed a new phone, i'd go for the pre (something not an iPhone atleast, pre's looking good) once i'd saved up the ££££, maybe convert those apple users so they wouldnt be blinded by the apple juggernaut.

 

[vant]

Goodbye Palm. Hopefully you sell your company before you declare 7 or 11.

"Most people don't know this but last week Palm released several 3D games such as sims, golf, and need for speed undercover."

Welcome to 2008.

 

[chomlee]

Well VANT, I guess it is a good thing that there are people like me who spend money on things other than apple products providing competition bringing the prices of your precious apple products down.

If you want pricing to stay competetive, it isn't smart to wish all the competition for apple would go bankrupt, unless of course you own stock in apple.

 

[Abrahm]

Not surprised. The Android army is taking over. Windows Mobile and Palm are the first casualties. The iPhone will hold out a little longer due to it's initially popularity and existing contracts, along with it's large app store, but it is only a matter of time before it falls too and Android becomes the defacto standard mobile OS much like Windows is for desktops today.

 

[chronicbint]

The Palm brand over here(the UK) is none existent outside of a few business users or techies and the iPhone has stomped all over anything else. Everyone wants an iPhone. Android may gain some ground but for the everyday person the iPhone is the phone of choice.

 

[abhik]

androd will almost certainly not take over. if youve had any considerable experience with android, youll know that its still immature. As for windows mobile being a casualty, a bit of research will tell you that WM has a far larger userbase than android. Iphones on the other hand are popular but do not have as high a user base as you might think, but are unlikely to wane any time soon, though it appears growth is decreasing somewhat

 

[Abrahm]

[citation][nom]abhik[/nom]androd will almost certainly not take over. if youve had any considerable experience with android, youll know that its still immature. As for windows mobile being a casualty, a bit of research will tell you that WM has a far larger userbase than android. Iphones on the other hand are popular but do not have as high a user base as you might think, but are unlikely to wane any time soon, though it appears growth is decreasing somewhat[/citation]
I do have considerable experience with Android. It is young, but fully capable. Android is growing at a remarkable rate, easily seen at the CES this year, while Windows Mobile market share is dropping drastically. The Android Marketplace is growing faster than the iPhone app store did.

A lot of handset makers are jumping on the Android bandwagon making Android devices available on every carrier, it is only a matter of time before Android over-takes the market.