[no1smartphone]

I just don't know what Palm and its marketing department are doing. This hush hush whisper type campaign to get people interested in the Pre just isn't enough.

Apple know about product launches they hit the airwaves etc hard. I know Palm does not have the marketing budget but at least a viral marketing campaign.

Palm has had - near enough 6 months to talk the Pre up and yet anyone who I know is not remotely tech savvy would not have heard of the Pre.

Word of mouth is not enough. Palm should have done some more creative marketing. The product good though it is still needs a push.

[tripple_sinner]

yes, this whole ordeal is pretty stupid. Atleast apple knows how to do marketing. Seriously if you wanna sell a product, do it right. Its really sad how they are handeling this whole thing

[Aridon]

They don't have enough stock. There could also be other issues with the phone and they would prefer more tech savvy people to have it first. People like us that use forums and can troubleshoot issues better.

I don't think they are really where they wanted to be but its good enough and time is running short.

[Big Dookie]

If supply is limited right now, it really does make sense to hold off advertising too much for the time being. I remember reading back in April that there was a huge marketing push scheduled during May sweeps, but because of the shortage they held back on this, which was really the right thing to do. Advertising, especially on Television, costs a LOT. Like, seriously, I don't think most people have a clue how insanely expensive it is.

So if Palm has a shortage, it doesn't make sense to tell people to go out and buy a Pre because many of those people won't be able to buy one and may even instead buy something else. Once supply is increased to suitable levels where this shouldn't be an issue anymore, the advertising blitz will really kick in.

Of course, most of this has already been stated by both Sprint and Palm, but for some reason people can't just accept that it's the truth and instead insist that there's some kind of marketing conspiracy going on here.

[realistdreamer]

They know what they are doing. Apple's marketing consultants are no smarter than Palm's. Why they are doing it, we're not sure. I bet it has something to do with inventory, timing and who they want their initial users to be. Clearly, the media campaign will correspond more to inventory on hand than the official launch date. That part makes total sense.

Also, while multi-tasking is really cool for geeks, having the screen turn horizontal is cool for the Apple target audience. They've already done the beautiful UI thing. Frankly, I think WebOS is evoluntionary and the iPhone was revolutionary. That doesn't mean that the Pre isn't a better phone than iPhone, just that it's unlikely to generate as much excitement.

Apple Newton was revolutionary and yet Palm III stole the market with an evolutionary product that actually did less, but better.

[miles4000]

I agree that it has to be related to the inventory shortages. They need this to be a hit but they are also running out of time and money.

[JONNNathannn]

I agree that they should have advertised heavily and have had a big supply (there's no excuse for shortages, what were they doing for 6 months?)

However, I think the Pre can be a success despite a soft launch.

[hitman-_-45-_-]

Also, while multi-tasking is really cool for geeks, having the screen turn horizontal is cool for the Apple target audience. They've already done the beautiful UI thing. Frankly, I think WebOS is evoluntionary and the iPhone was revolutionary. That doesn't mean that the Pre isn't a better phone than iPhone, just that it's unlikely to generate as much excitement.

Apple Newton was revolutionary and yet Palm III stole the market with an evolutionary product that actually did less, but better.

well said.

There has been plenty of things advertised heavily and that had shortages, but in the end it was advertised well and people waited for it. They need to advertise.

[dave75]

I think the inventory shortages are made up to keep up the hype. If they are getting deliveries every day how is there a shortage? There will probably be a huge ad campaign after Apple makes their announcement to steal alittle of their thunder and draw comparisons in the media for some free advertising. And the Itunes thing, I wouldn't be suprised if Palm wants Apple to get upset and make a big deal about it. More free media advertising. They're playing a lot of tricks and I think they will sell alot of Pre phones.

[no1smartphone]

Lets postulate for a moment. Apples best quarter for Iphone sales is always Q1 - the first 3 months of the launch - Iphone 3g - sold 6.9 (Q4 2008) + 4.4 (Q1 2009) + 3.8 (Q2 2009).

If Palm can do a soft launch now and perhaps 6 months down the line do a quick product refresh - this would be awesome - most important - upping the internal memory from 8gb to 32gb.

[IMethos]

Why do people pretend to know more than the marketing division, shareholders, stakeholders and the people with the most to lose from a botched launch??

There is a reason for everything. They know what they are doing. Relax and calm down.

[no1smartphone]

I think the inventory shortages are made up to keep up the hype. If they are getting deliveries every day how is there a shortage? There will probably be a huge ad campaign after Apple makes their announcement to steal alittle of their thunder and draw comparisons in the media for some free advertising. And the Itunes thing, I wouldn't be suprised if Palm wants Apple to get upset and make a big deal about it. More free media advertising. They're playing a lot of tricks and I think they will sell alot of Pre phones.

If Apple gets upset and locks out Pre users that will be good publicity for Pre versus the monopolist Apple. If Apple lets Pre continue with the synch then other manufacturers may try the same method.

Whatever happens Pre has laid down the gauntlet. I fully expect Apple to try to remove the Pre synch to Itunes with an update with no fanfaire but for Pre to light up the airwaves as being the aggrieved party.

[no1smartphone]

Why do people pretend to know more than the marketing division, shareholders, stakeholders and the people with the most to lose from a botched launch??

There is a reason for everything. They know what they are doing. Relax and calm down.

We don't but that attitude leads us to complacency. Nokia owned the Smartphone crown 2 years ago and is now getting torn apart. Look at Motorola did.

For the Palm to be a success it needs a community to continue challenge it to keep it on its toes. One success is not enough.

[dave75]

If Apple gets upset and locks out Pre users that will be good publicity for Pre versus the monopolist Apple. If Apple lets Pre continue with the synch then other manufacturers may try the same method.

Whatever happens Pre has laid down the gauntlet. I fully expect Apple to try to remove the Pre synch to Itunes with an update with no fanfaire but for Pre to light up the airwaves as being the aggrieved party.

Exactly, it's a pretty bold and shrewd move from Palm. Apple either has to live with what Palm is doing, release an update to stop it which Palm will cry monopoly over and create lots of press, or try to stop Palm with legal action which would also create lots of press. Palm will not be quiet no matter what and Apple either looks weak or monopolistic. It will be interesting to see what happens.

[gbp]

Agree , there is no marketing at all.
Its a risk strategy. Don't know how it plays out.

[udratherbme]

the soft launch is good, that means i can get one on the first day and i dont have to w8 in line w/ all the people that are going to get it and complain the next day or even the next month b/c they thought it was something that it really is not.....

[titansluvpre]

One thing....I dont think Palm wants the average joe/jane getting the PRE...just yet. Not every average joe/jane rushed to get the Iphone when it first came out either. And you have to remember, when the Iphone came out, it was appealing to an already growing different market...people who use Apple computers. So they already had a large fan base.

Now why PRE doesnt want to do mass marketing? Why over market a phone and it fails or too many bugs in the beginning? Especially to the average person....if they dont understand the phone they will most likely return it in 30 days.

I think Palm is playing it safe...let the tech people(US) get their hands on it first, see how the buzz is going with it....then when you have plenty of stock for the phone....get the word out in a flashy way, the same as Apple has done.

Remember these Iphone commercials were not out 2 years ago like they are now.

[ronlongo]

I agree that they should have advertised heavily and have had a big supply (there's no excuse for shortages, what were they doing for 6 months?)

However, I think the Pre can be a success despite a soft launch.

I doubt you know what it takes to develop a product and bring it to market. MANY things need to be coordinated. They have not been sitting on their hands for six months. Trust me.

[esheafer]

I think their lack of Marketing will help those of us on the 6th actually get the phone. If it was well marketed we wouldn't be able to compete with the masses.

[wynand32]

It's well past the point where Palm is damned if they do and damned if they don't. Let's see if I understand this:

Fact, as we know it: Inventory is light, perhaps due to Palm's finances, or a hardware component shortage or issue, or software glitch, or whatever. Doesn't matter, there won't be as many Pre available on the 6th as everyone would like.

Because of this fact, Palm had two choices:

1. Delay the launch. Of course, then everyone on this forum would be screaming because of the delay. People would say, "Ship it now, we're geeks, we'll deal with the bugs. Do a soft launch, keep it on the down low, and just get it to us early adopters. Just don't delay any longer. Aaargh!"

2. Launch on time (and yes, they're still very much on time) with less inventory, and keep the marketing light. In essence, do a very soft launch. Of course, in response to this, folks on this forum are now screaming because the marketing has been too light. "They should be advertising more! Nobody outside the tech geek world, in fact nobody outside of this forum, even knows about the Pre! How can Palm compete against Apple with marketing like this?!? They're gonna fail and we're all gonna die. Aaargh!"

Please, people, can we get some kind of perspective on this? You all wanted Palm to ship as soon as possible, they're doing that, and they're walking an incredibly fine line in doing so. I'm sure that everyone here is so well versed in marketing that they could have done the product, pricing, promotional, and distribution strategy in their sleep, but I'm sure that Palm's marketing folks are doing the best they can.

And in the end, yes, it really is just a phone.