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| | | The Palm Pre is a top-of-the-line smart phone with an intuitive interface, a brand new proprietary operating system, and enough bells and whistles to make it a formidable challenger to Apple's iPhone. | | |
| Typical costs: | - In June 2009 the Palm Pre went on sale in Sprint stores for $199 (after $100 rebate) with a two-year contract.
- Sprint is the exclusive carrier for the Pre and does not offer a no-contract price. In other words the Pre locks the user into a two-year commitment with Sprint. The replacement cost if the unit is lost, destroyed or stolen is $550.
- As its name implies, Sprint's Simply Everything plan is all inclusive. The price of $99.99 gets you unlimited voice, data (over Sprint's EV-DO network), and messaging services of all types. It also includes Sprint's TeleNav-powered navigation at no additional charge. The customer can step down to plans as low as $69.99 a month, but for anyone except the occasional user, it's more economical to spring for the Everything plan.
What should be included: | - The Pre comes with Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity, a web browser, a slide-out keyboard, 8GB of memory, a 3 megapixel camera with flash (no video recording function), and a monitor that switches between portrait and landscape.
- Applications and programs appear on the home screen like a deck of cards, with users flicking between them to select. The Pre is capable of simultaneously running multiple applications at the same time.
Additional costs: | - The Palm Shop is loaded with accessories ranging from a leather slip case ($39.99), a vehicle charger ($29.99), a charging dock ($49.99) or a stereo headset ($24.99).
- Once it's up and running, Pre's application store will be known as the Palm App Catalog. It's expected to carry a raft of add-on applications similar in function and design to those developed for the iPhone, and ranging from $0.99 on up.
Discounts: | - Introductory $100 mail-in rebate.
- Sprint has announced a service plan for enterprise customers who are moderate data users.
- The $39.99 per-phone connection plan for corporate accounts offers 500MB of monthly data for each user.
- Sprint's buy-back plan deducts varying amounts for turning in a pre-owned Sprint phone.
Shopping for a palm pre: | - To find a nearby Sprint store, visit the company's Pre locator map to get started.
- To buy the Pre sight-unseen, head over to Sprint's Pre homepage for a virtual demo and purchase options.
- For those on the fence, PalmPre.org has lively discussion forums and in-depth specs that can help the decision-making process.
- One major gripe is over Sprint's network: EV-DO allows for super-fast data transfers, however, it doesn't allow for voice and data functions at the same time, which means a user could find several e-mails after speaking to someone on the phone. The problem can be circumvented while in Wi-Fi range, but that doesn't help business travelers on the go. This might not be an issue for the average consumer, but may be for corporate users.
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Article updated August 2009 |
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