Palm Pre Tries To Take A Bite Out Of Apple
June 9, 2009 by Tisa Silver
Filed under Finance
Yesterday, Apple announced an iPhone price cut and introduced a new, faster iPhone. Wonder if the Palm Pre had anything to do with that?
On Saturday, the Palm Pre made its highly anticipated debut. Initial sales estimates vary by analyst, but are in the range of 50,000 to 100,000 units.
Photo by renaissancechambara, courtesy of flickr
According to the Wall Street Journal, Apple sold approximately 150,000 iPhones in its first weekend.
The Pre features Palm’s WebOS operating system. For now, the Pre and its WebOS technology are only available to Sprint customers. In January, Verizon Wireless clients will be able to try the Pre.
Shares of Palm (Ticker: PALM) closed 4.44 percent higher today.
The timing of the price cut and new product announcement proves that Apple is obviously concerned about the competition.
In recent years, Apple has announced price cuts and released new technology rather quickly. Some of these moves have angered customers. In 2007, one customer was so upset by the announcements that she sued Apple for $1 million.
The case of the Pre is totally different. Apple’s approach is proactive and comes at a time when people are very price-conscious. The Pre has had some good reviews, but it’s going to take more than that to turn Apple sour!
