Palm Pre Release Date
Official Palm Pre Launch Date Still Top Secret But…
There is no doubt that in less than a month since its public unveiling at CES the Palm Pre has already become the single most highly anticipated smartphone of 2009 thanks to raving reviews and many people are more than a little bit anxious to get one in their hands.
Although Palm has repeatedly suggested that the most likely release date for the Palm Pre would be June, a leaked Sprint EOL (End Of Life) smartphone list that appeared yesterday nonetheless suggests that the official Palm Pre launch date may actually be coming _much_ sooner than expected.
According to the document, Sprint lists two Palm smartphones reaching their EOL. The first is the Treo 800w with an EOL of April which is to be replaced by the Sprint Treo Pro by 15 February (information that correlates to previous leaks). The second is the Palm 755p with an EOL of late May which is to be replaced by none other than the Palm Pre by 15 March…
While I and many others would naturally be delighted for the above Palm Pre launch date to turn out to be true the fact is nonetheless that most sources close to Palm still maintain that a May/June release is much more likely. Having said this, it is also possible that thanks to the hugely positive response that the Palm Pre has already garnered that Sprint may be pushing Palm to accelerate its release date so as to maximize on the current buzz (particularly with news today of a possible iPhone Nano or other next-generation iPhone also coming out in June).
Either way, it’s becoming pretty clear that the Palm Pre is the closest real iPhone competitor to have surfaced to date and we can expect a real war to be waged between both companies this year. With the unveiling of the Pre, Palm has demonstrated that it can again deliver revolutionary products and the next step will be to demonstrate that it can also successfully execute not only the launch of this smartphone but also the development of a strong ecosystem to support it.
Please take a moment to share your own feelings about the continued Smartphone Wars and let your fellow Treonauts know which device(s) you are most exited about for 2009:
Sources:
Sprint EOL list reveals target Palm Pre launch [BoyGeniusReport]
What an iPhone Nano Would Look Like [WashingtonPost.com]
Treonauts are always ready for a revolution… 
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Comments
Time has come for me to upgrade to a new Treo. Presently I am using the Treo 700p and would like to remain with the Palm operating system since many programs have been purchased and would be useless on a Windows based system. Can you give me any advice?
Thanks, Mark
Any idea if AT&T will release a new Palm Smartphone, Pre or something else, at some point to succeed the Treo? They have apparently stopped offering the Treo.
I don't believe the palm pre will be backward compatible with palm software - anyone certain on this?
& as usual with Verizon, I imagine they will be the last to bring the Pre on board - anyone know anything on that?
You will find all the answers or at least most of them in the Forums under the Palm Pre section. ;-)
http://forum.treonauts.com/palm-smartphones/palm-pre/
It's going to be a tough call picking between the Pre and whatever Sprint's Android offering is.
Any info on contact/calendar migration options for those of us with data stuck in Palm Desktop?
I doubt it will come out in March. With Apple's patent. And Palm's track record of delaying everything (although this isn't really delaying since Palm hasn't announced an actual date). Everytime I see that Sprint has the Pre coming out soon, I keep thinking someone's typo is to blame. Pro and Pre are pretty close...
However comma I will wait for the Pre to release. I'm still going with May-June time frame, so that I don't get so upset when they push it back another 2 months.
I haven't seen any details on the migration of calendar data. If the new OS doesn't provide the functionality to automatically migrate data, possibly migrating to Outlook then back to the new OS calendar.
If they come out in March, I think this means that they know there is no problem with Apple's patent.
I'm in Italy: I hope to see this great phone soon!
This is really something!
Never been so exited since my last Commodore Amiga! ^_^
Date shmate. How much? And they better get it right.
Please don't come this far and then screw it all up with some ridiculous >$300 PDA with max 8GB total memory and no expansion memory available.
Sheesh.
I've read on these blogs that they will follow up the initial Pre launch for Sprint (US) with a release for Verizon about 6 months later. Is that an accurate description of what could happen?
That would make any Verizon availability in the Fall 09 time frame.
Does anyone know why Andrew has stopped posting? Is everything ok?
If its not soon I will have to go with the Iphone. I need a new phone and if the pre is any later than march I am not waiting. This "hype machine" can and will run out of gas. We need some info if we are going to wait.
Apparently there may be some validity to this date as a release point (at least initially, and perhaps optimistically) for the Pre. I spoke with a sales rep today with the intent of buying the Treo Pro and was promptly informed that the release for the Pro had, yet again, been delayed. He also stated that there was a debate as to whether or not the Pro will even be released with the Pre slated to come out hot on its heels. When I asked for a date that the Pre would be released, he said that he had seen March 15th, as indicated above, as the date he had seen, but as of yet nothing was absolute.
So, bad news for those of us wanting the Treo Pro (which I've been itching to get my hands on since it's release) and perhaps good news for those waiting for the Pre (which I will not be disappointed in if it is that recently released).
Spoke to Austin, TX Best Buy manager on 2/14/09. Said that they were getting the Pre the first week of April. He confirmed it with his mobile dept. guy. Also said they had it exclusively for 6 weeks (I'm assuming in addition to Sprint stores).
Hey Andrew,
I just discovered on EVDO info a release date of 5/10. Learn more at http://www.evdoinfo.com/content/view/2665/64/.
Can you confirm?
Orion
It won't be March 15th. Sprint does NOT release phones on SUNDAY!!!
according to sites sprint has all rights to the palm pre until the end of 2009. so no, it will not be available on other carriers until at least 2010. as it seems it will be available in Marc but hey, the first half of 2009 means all the way til June so who knows. aple did not win the law suit against stright because it does not own the patent for the "cards" (or apps)that sprint is using in the palm pre, technically the patent belong to university of Iowa or Michigan so if apple sues, they can lose everything.
I stopped by the local Sprint store here in California earlier today and the sales rep there said she received an internal email this morning indicating that both the Pro and Pre were being released tomorrow. She also went on to say that they were not expecting to receive the devices in the store, but they would be available for purchase online. I asked her if she still had the email so that I could read and confirm, but when she went to go look for it, she had already deleted it. I'm not sure how accurate or credible the information is, but this would be a great delight if the Pre could be ordered online as soon as tomorrow.
I talked with Sprint online in a chat room, and they said the Palm Pre would be available in the middle of March. No exact date, but next month...
Talked to a Bestbuy phone rep today. Said they recieved the Pre last month, but were then forced to ship them back to the manufacturer. To me, that means they found a problem with the phone itself
Sprint insider told me the PRE will be available tomorrow 2/25!!!
Chatting online with a Sprint rep now. She confirmed release date of 3/15.
11:38:24 PM Kelly Salisbury Hello. Can you tell me the release date for the Palm Pre? I've read several sources posting a 3/15 release date.
11:39:05 PM Lauren C That is a great question, I would be happy to research that information for you. One moment please.
11:40:50 PM Lauren C I appreciate your patience. I am showing that the expected release date is 3/15/09.
@kurt I think they were talking about the pro. Not the pre. There is no way that they already received the phone.
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