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Pondering the big question: Why is the Pre 2 being released on Verizon and SFR?

By: , 10/19/2010 4:30 pm | 25 comments

webOS 2.0 has been officially announced! Yay! Wait…did I just read read this correctly?

The first device to run webOS 2.0, HP’s new Palm Pre 2 smartphone, will be available on Friday in France from SFR and is scheduled to be available in the coming months in the United States from Verizon Wireless and in Canada.

Now that opens up a whole lot of questions doesn’t it? Why in the world is France getting the Pre2 first? Why will it be available in “the coming months” in the United States and Canada? What Canadian carrier will get this new device? The biggest question of the day has to be why is there only mention of Verizon getting the Pre2? I’m going to try to break each one of these questions down, but I too am puzzled by many of the decisions that have been announced today.

Why is France getting the Palm Pre2 first? This makes absolutely no sense to us. Yes, SFR is huge in France and cover over half the French population. The French have accepted webOS with open arms and seem to have taken to it quite well. However, we all know that the majority of webOS users are in the United States. So why France is getting it first is beyond our comprehension. Maybe it was more logical to make a GSM device so that they can roll it out to other European markets in the near future. Hopefully, that question will be answered soon.

Why was a Canadian carrier not named? That answer could be that Bell may not want it. We hate to admit it, but the Palm Pre and Pixi haven’t been exactly “barn busters” from a sales perspective in a lot of countries, including Canada. So chances are Bell does not want this “spec bump” in the webOS lineup. There is a good possibility that the next Canadian webOS device will be seen on Rogers Wireless, Telus Mobility, or Wind Mobile. [Ed: Of course to some people that is a good thing.]

The biggest question many have had today is why launch the Pre2 on Verizon instead of Sprint? There is no denying that Sprint has the largest portion of webOS users in the world. Also, back when the first Pre was released it was like pulling teeth to get Verizon salesmen to actually sell the thing (we even tried to help them out). There have been many stories of VZ sales reps pushing people to buy an Android device instead of a webOS device. Makes for a strange exclusive doesn’t it?

Also, lets not forget that Verizon has about a billion phones they are pushing nowadays. You have the droid army (droid, droid pro, droid 2, droid X, droid nougat), and come early next year all signs point to the mighty iPhone making its way to Big Red. To say the competition is fierce would be an understatement. Where does the Pre2 fit in? If most “superphones” sell at $199, what would be a good price for the Pre2?

The answer may very well be that Verizon is the only US carrier that wants the new device. As seen as a response on Palm’s Facebook page:

Thanks for the feedback, we really appreciate you taking the time to write! Carriers in the United States determine which phones they offer their subscribers. If you’d like Sprint to carry a new Palm webOS phone, let them know. They have a contact page on their corporate website, and a fan page here on Facebook:
http://www.sprint.com/contactus/
http://www.facebook.com/sprint

Now there is also no mention of AT&T but we will assume the same goes for them as well.

Let’s look at the facts here for a second. The Palm Pre had some issues from a hardware perspective: the infamous “oreo effect”, usb cracks, phones that got stuck in headset mode, etc. We all know about the problems and we know that many Palm Pres were returned or exchanged (sometimes more than once). I myself have a Pre that is but a stone throw away from being completely broken [Ed: To be fair, you are an angry little man...that poor phone].

So, why would Sprint (or other carriers) want to take another chance with yet another Pre? The new Pre2 is far from ground breaking enough for any carrier to really push it. In all honesty the “average Joe” looking for a new smartphone may not notice the differences and pass over the Pre2 in favor of a shiny new Android device.

Is it good enough for us? For the most part yes. It is more than enough to keep webOS users happy until the “super phone” arrives. However, It may not be enough to draw in a bucket load of new customers that are looking for  big fancy screens, front facing cameras, gyroscopes, and creamy nougat centers.

What do you think? Why are SFR and Verizon getting the Pre2 and not other carriers? If you are on Sprint, will you jump to Big Red?

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About Ryan St. Andrie

Ryan is a WOR News Hound and super geek who is always working to melt his phone with the latest experimental kernels. He is husband to lovely wife Keira and father to adorable baby girl Kyla, ASE certified mechanic and self proclaimed gearhead turned to railroad mechanic. Last but not least lover of all things tech.
View all posts by Ryan St. Andrie →
  • http://twitter.com/Mechanical_Mind Ryan

    I seriously believe pitching the Pre2 up against the big boys on Verizon (Droids and soon to be iPhone) may turn out to be a good move. All past history aside, isn’t this the best way to tackle to opposition? Right up in their face…muscle in, the specs match up now, the OS is technically as capable..make people really think which phone they’re gonna choose. Why isolate it on a separate network? Let’s hope it works out…this time around.

  • Tom

    I’m on Sprint and got my Pre the day they came out. I like Sprint and probably will give them a couple three months of slack to maybe jump on it late. But eventually – yes, I guess I’ll jump to Verizon, if that is the only US choice for WebOS2. I’m still hoping Sprint gets it…

    • http://www.webosroundup.com/ David

      webOS 2 is coming to all phones…not just the Pre2.

  • http://www.adonisdemon.com Abul

    I’m not so sure Ryan, I think WebOS can stand-up against the other boys, still not convinced if the hardware will. Even with the upgraded camera, physically the Pre2 looks just like the Pre. Made from similar materials etc…

  • Rob

    PC Magazine used a demo Pre 2 on AT&T’s network: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371016,00.asp

    “…range of Web sites rendered promptly and displayed accurately on the AT&T HSPA 7.2 network”

  • Anonymous

    What if the Pre is becoming the introductory device? Due to it’s ease of use I could see it being aimed at the teen/tween crowd that don’t need as a robust phone as say the VZW Driod lineup. Parents would then see it as an affordable offering that is better than the cutesy stuff Motorola is offering.I’m waiting on our Droid/iPhone worthy challenger and perhaps other form factors. The Pre 2 is not enough of a hardware upgrade for me to make the jump from my Pre Plus.

    • http://www.webosroundup.com/ David

      I have thought that as well…the Pre2 could be sold cheap and made into what the Pixi fills now. That could work quite nicely.

  • http://twitter.com/gbuofu Garrett Bentley

    Hopefully Sprint is just waiting on a 4G webOS device to make an update and once again, take it’s place as the top webOS carrier

  • Anonymous

    All I know is that Sprint’s FB page is feeling the wrath of all the webOS loyal that want their Pre 2′s. I’m one of them. The only thing I can think of is Sprint is holding out for whatever device HP/Palm will announce at CES, hopefully a 4g one. But I would still like to have the option of getting a Pre 2.

    • http://www.facebook.com/JeremiahBWhite Jeremiah White

      Right there with you.

  • http://www.hpalmnews.com HPalm News

    I’ve posted here before that this is the best strategy for HPalm. I’m not sure what their options are if Sprint really won’t carry it and AT&T is too busy with WP7 devices.

    On top of that, if they can make the right marketing push and the right price point, it is very, very possible that this could be a big quick win for webOS. Think of this as a big ball at the top of a hill. They need momentum and if they can take a big cost hit right now by offering the Pre 2 for some crazy low price, it is possible they could steal an enormous amount of momentum from Android and also win all of the holiday crowd before the iPhone comes out.

  • http://www.hpalmnews.com HPalm News

    I’ve posted here before that this is the best strategy for HPalm. I’m not sure what their options are if Sprint really won’t carry it and AT&T is too busy with WP7 devices.

    On top of that, if they can make the right marketing push and the right price point, it is very, very possible that this could be a big quick win for webOS. Think of this as a big ball at the top of a hill. They need momentum and if they can take a big cost hit right now by offering the Pre 2 for some crazy low price, it is possible they could steal an enormous amount of momentum from Android and also win all of the holiday crowd before the iPhone comes out.

  • dan

    also, palm wants this to be their big top-of-the-line smartphone, and sprint wants all of their big top-of-the-line smartphones to be 4G now to promote the technology and get the $10 extra per month partially for profit and paritally to expand the network. If (let’s just say for example) 65,000 palm pre owners will upgrade to palm pre 2 on sprint (given the approx amountof webos users is around 200000), why wouldn’t sprint demand that it’s 4G to get an extra $650,000 per month… Hopefully the Roadrunner HD will fit into that 4G push.

  • Anonymous

    I want my Pre 2 on Sprint NOW!!!

  • Anonymous

    I want my Pre 2 on Sprint NOW!!!

  • Chillywill_95831

    Verizon gets it because they want it, first of all. Second, HP likes Verizon because although they serve many customers, they aso get major foot traffic. This article spells it out loud and clear, with Verizon selling so many phones, the Pre2 will get greater exposure! Throw in some Palm/HP fanboy store reps, and who knows, maybe the Pre2 gets traction!!!

  • Chillywill_95831

    Verizon gets it because they want it, first of all. Second, HP likes Verizon because although they serve many customers, they aso get major foot traffic. This article spells it out loud and clear, with Verizon selling so many phones, the Pre2 will get greater exposure! Throw in some Palm/HP fanboy store reps, and who knows, maybe the Pre2 gets traction!!!

  • http://twitter.com/AboutwebOS Mark Coppock

    As I think more about this, I’m starting to wonder if maybe Sprint didn’t do the right thing by not taking the Pre 2 (assuming this is actually what happened, which I do). Maybe I wouldn’t want to be faced with the decision over burning or not burning my upgrade for a transitional device like the Pre 2. Maybe I’ll be happy in the next few months that I waited…

  • eid

    I think Sprint is overloaded with its android phones, trying to roll out 4G, and trying to compete with Att and Verizon without going backrupt. I know that Verizon doesn’t have any love for Palm (I have Pre+ on Verizon) but it probably wants to a complete stable of different products. Want a enterprise email phone? BB. Want a big geek phone: A couple of Android phones. Want something different seems a bit more unique – nothing like the Pre form factor (for better or worse)!, elegant UI: try a Pre 2. The pre2 will display better than the Pre+ and its stock speed and build will attract users. Question is whether Iphone will launch early next year and will it pull lots of ATT defectors in VW stores.

  • http://twitter.com/skutcka Scott R Kutcka

    strategy may be in play here as well. my guess is that Verizon has seen the prototypes that HP has presented of where they are taking not only webOS but future hardware and it and sees value in the partnership now with where the entire line and data packages will take them.

    As we know, from a hardware standpoint the pre 2 is nothing to make you do backflips but the application on future devices is truly impressive. Verizon does not want to miss out where they did with the iPhone.

  • http://www.hpalmnews.com HPalm News

    I’ve posted an extensive commentary as to why I think HP and Palm are running with Verizon for this initial launch. It is a pretty far fetched, overly optimistic view, but hey, we can dream right?

    You can read it here – http://www.hpalmnews.com/2010/10/20/why-is-the-palm-pre-2-launching-on-verizon-not-sprint/

    Thanks to webOS roundup for all of the latest news and interesting commentary. It is great to have an awesome community of people who actually care what happens with WebOS and Palm

  • http://www.hpalmnews.com HPalm News

    I’ve posted an extensive commentary as to why I think HP and Palm are running with Verizon for this initial launch. It is a pretty far fetched, overly optimistic view, but hey, we can dream right?

    You can read it here – http://www.hpalmnews.com/2010/10/20/why-is-the-palm-pre-2-launching-on-verizon-not-sprint/

    Thanks to webOS roundup for all of the latest news and interesting commentary. It is great to have an awesome community of people who actually care what happens with WebOS and Palm

  • Anonymous

    In order to roll out in Canada, they need to provision both English and French support. Going with either UK, or France, is logical. UK doesn’t really seem that interested in Palm right now, so going with France as a European stepping off place works.

    I think Sprint doesn’t want to commit to several webOS devices right off the bat. They know what is coming in January and are waiting to add one of those, probably 4G devices.

    Not hitting Bell is good for @jaycanuck, so for his sake I hope it is on another CA carrier.

  • Anonymous

    Launching in France feels like a pilot launch to work out bugs and ramp up production, or maybe they were just the most eager carrier and completed testing first. Sprint and Bell probably are not falling all over themselves to repeat their hardware issues with the original Pre, especially now that Android is selling so well.

    No matter how the launch happens people will find fault. Remember when Palm originally launched on Sprint everyone was screaming that it was dumb not to launch on Verizon or AT&T because they were bigger.

  • Recent Pre Owner

    Verizon has to be counted as a Pre supporter. Verizon bundles an offer for the Pre Plus that is unavailable for any phone or device – free mobile wifi hotspot capability for up to 5GB per month. That is the major selling factor that sold me on the Pre in May.