Palm Not Worried About Competition
While the Palm Pre, which Palm was turning to for salvation from slumping smartphone sales and continually declining revenue, hadn't been on the market long enough to impact Palm's fourth-quarter numbers -- the quarter ended May 29 and the Pre hit stores June 6 -- the smartphone isn't shaping up to be the hit Palm anticipated.
Palm is going to need more tricks up its sleeve if it expects to remain relevant in the smartphone market and get back the traction it once had while it was pushing Palm Pilots.
One of the major things that is going to hold back the Pre? The Apple iPhone 3G S. Yeah, I said it.
It was a pretty bold move on Palm's part to release the Pre just days before the world expected Apple to unveil the third-generation Apple iPhone. And, as expected, Apple revealed the iPhone 3G S at its Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) on June 8. Had Palm waited, or hit stores sooner, the outcome may have been different. But the iPhone 3G S was able to unload more than 1 million units in its first weekend alone, compared to a much smaller number of Pres. It just goes to show that timing is everything with a smartphone release.
Releasing the Pre so close to the new iPhone sparked a new clash of the touch-screen titans, a battle that the Apple iPhone is sure to win, as it has proven in the past. Where Apple has sold more than 1 million iPhone 3G S smartphones in the first few days, Palm was estimated to have sold 50,000 to 100,000. Not a flop by any stretch, but not iPhone numbers either.
While Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein didn't give exact sales figures for the Pre during Palm's fourth-quarter earnings call this week, he did say that Pre sales have been "strong and growing."
Rubinstein called the Pre Palm's official re-entry into the smartphone race, but the company isn't resting on its laurels, admitting it had more ground to cover to be a hit.
Despite Palm's tough outlook, Rubenstein noted that he feels the Palm Pre can succeed despite other smartphone giants taking away its potential market share.
"There's room for three to five players in this space," Rubinstein said. "We don't have to beat each other to prosper."
Good thing, because with the Apple iPhone 3G S and other competitors, like the widely popular BlackBerry smartphone line, Palm has its work cut out for it.