It looks like Laura Sydell from NPR’s All Tech Considered got a chance to spend some hands-on time with the long-awaited Palm Pre. While impressed with the features and overall look and feel of the device, Sydell is unsure that it will be able to sway users to switch carriers to Sprint.
This point hits the larger question of whether people are willing switch service providers for phones they like in general. I was skeptical about the iPhone’s ability to make this happen just before it came out, but I have definitely been proven wrong. Now the question is can a company other than Apple develop a product with sufficient ‘buzz’ to get people to move over.
The Pre will bring some people over to Sprint, for sure, whether it’s the few hardcore Palm fans out there still clinging to a Centro or iPhone defectors looking for a flip-out keyboard and the ability to run multiple applications at a time. These people exist. But is the average consumer going to see the commercials, see their friends with it and see complete strangers carrying them and suddenly decide that above all things they want one as well? I’m skeptical.
Because of the hurdles posed by the uniquely American 2-year carrier contracts, the mobile phone market is not as cut and dried as, say, the market for gaming consoles. In order to get people to switch providers, a lot of people, so far what it takes is an elegant-looking product with a ton of clever marketing and advertising behind it, in addition to a related gateway product (iPod) with its own years of powerful marketing. It’s a tall order that the Pre probably won’t be able to fill.
Apple may be investigating some damage control by exploring ways to run background applications, but overall I don’t think they’re concerned. Smart phones are expensive, and as long as the iPhones aren’t breaking in record numbers, even owners who are annoyed by some of the product’s limitations will wait before switching to something else.
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Good words bud. I believe it will be coming out tomorrow May 17th at your local Sprint store.
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