Dan Hesse, CEO of Sprint, has been quoted in regard to the upcoming Palm Pre, saying that “we think we are going to have shortages for a while.” The Pre is supposed to be a hot competitor to the iPhone, and there’s a lot of pressure on Palm to put something strong on the market. What does this potential shortage mean? I’ve got a couple ideas.
- Palm simply hasn’t been able to manufacture as many as they think will be demanded. This is not a good thing for them. With the iPhone 3.0 update coming shortly after the Pre’s release, Palm needs to meet demand or potential buyers might go with the iPhone.
- Hype. Palm wants to establish the Pre as a hot item before iPhone 3.0 is available. Maybe they hope that predicting a shortage (even if it isn’t a bad shortage) will make people hesitant to wait for the iPhone. If the Pre is going fast, buyers need to get to the store and buy one before the comparisons and reviews come in.
- They’re scared they can’t compete with the Apple marketing machine. They probably wanted to get the Pre out earlier, but couldn’t get it completed, manufactured, and prepare employees in time. They’d rather not go straight up against Apple, but simple cannot afford to wait to release this thing. So they will release what they have, not market it too hard, and hope the rare few who get them give the Pre gushing reviews.
Those are the three possibilities I see. Only one of the three is (sort of) good. Yes every one of them has some reference to the new iPhone. Palm has to be thinking about the iPhone in their strategy. It is the primary competitor to the Pre. Whatever happens it should be an interesting summer in the smart phone market.
Advertisement
