CAN PALM’S PRE SAVE SPRINT?

Yesterday, Sprint announced layoffs of approximately 8,000 workers. In this horrendous economic environment, it is not surprising that Sprint continues to struggle. There is, however, hope on the horizon for Sprint with its upcoming launch of the Palm Pre, tentatively scheduled for May.
 
The Palm Pre is a revolutionary touchscreen device and a true iPhone competitor. The handset’s weaponry includes a 3.1 inch touchscreen, 3 megapixel camera, 8 GB, Wi-Fi, GPS, accelerometer, stereo Bluetooth, slide out QWERTY keyboard, and much more. While it certainly has the potential to lure customers from Sprint’s competitors, Sprint may not see significant subscriber growth in this plunging economy. The silver lining is that the Palm Pre, nonetheless, may significantly slow subscriber churn to other carriers.
 
While Sprint may benefit from the Palm Pre, the handset’s exclusivity to Sprint might prove problematic for Palm. Likely Pre users are already in contracts with Sprint competitors given the popularity of both Blackberry and the iPhone. With almost 82 percent of Americans already owning cell phones, according to CTIA-Wireless , and with the country in the middle of a recession, the question remains as to whether subscribers will replace their phones as regularly as in the past.
 
By taking so long to catch up, Palm now must compete across multiple fronts to surpass Android, Apple, RIM, Symbian and Windows. The key will be convincing developers to create applications for the new platform, Web OS, price the handset competitively, and successfully market the device to consumers and corporate buyers (which Palm is known to do pretty well).
 
The Palm Pre has received positive feedback since CES, offering Sprint hope that its fortunes will finally change. Sprint will finally have a true flagship phone to dedicate their marketing efforts. While the Palm Pre alone won’t be able to save Sprint, it will certainly provide them a much needed boost