As we’ve seen ushered by many analysts and people familiar with the industry, it seems like everyone is unanimous in seeing Palm release a new handset to combat their struggling woes. After their stock had been downgraded and expectations were not in line with their recent Verizon launch, it appears as though Palm might once again partner with Sprint in releasing their latest handset. Sprint of course already beat everyone to the punch in the 4G race by having their next generation network up and running in a handful of markets already, but some analysts see the idea as being risky – claiming that Palm wouldn’t throw all of its eggs in one basket when it comes to the future and embrace of the WiMAX network. Instead, analyst would rather see them update their existing 3G enabled handsets with larger touchscreens and focus on moving its distribution towards AT&T as a potential game saving move. Aside from the hardware aspect, it may also seem that Palm will really need to focus on their webOS platform and tweak it enough to make the experience seamless and innovative. With so many new mobile platforms expected to hit the market, Palm will need to revamp its own platform and keep it fresh enough to be adopted by new customers.
source: Computerworld via BGR

In the US, Sprint Palm Pre owners are getting the first taste of the latest version of the platform while the O2 and Movistar variants are also getting in on this treatment. The download itself is at a mere 39MB and will be all that stands in between your way from getting video recording, Flash, enhanced message notifications, and improved battery life that’s all found on webOS 1.4. Everyone else will have to eye these owners with envy as they will become the first to test out these new features. As they prepare to launch the update on other carriers and handsets, it’ll be a test to see how quickly Palm can expedite the roll out of their next installment of the platform as things have begun to look shaky for the company. They’ll need to really capture the attention of consumers if and when they release the next version in order to compete in this ever fierce market.
via Engadget

After Palm reported to Wall Street that sales performance of their new webOS-based smartphones was far below original expectations, CEO Jon Rubinstein sent an email to all Palm employees explaining in more detail the reasons for their disappointing financial results and the steps the company is taking to right the ship. Below is the text of the actual memo as posted by the Wall Street Journal:

Team,

This morning we announced preliminary results for our 2010 third quarter. Since the quarter has not yet closed, it is too soon to offer exact numbers, but we stated that we expect to report revenues for Q3 between $300 and $320 million. We also announced that we expect our revenue for this fiscal year to fall below the guidance we gave to Wall Street, which ranged from $1.6 to $1.8 billion. As we mentioned in our press release, our softer than expected performance is due to slower than expected customer adoption of our products, which in turn has prompted our U.S. carrier partners to put additional orders on hold for the time being. On a positive note, we expect to exit the quarter with over $500 million in cash on our balance sheet. We’re scheduled to announce our full financial results in March.

I realize this news is difficult to swallow. We made this announcement today to prevent a surprise for Wall Street when we announce quarterly earnings in March. In the meantime, the entire executive team has been working extremely hard to improve product performance, and have implemented a number of initiatives to increase awareness and drive sales.

Dave Whalen and I just returned from a very successful meeting with Verizon Wireless, where they acknowledged that their execution of our launch was below expectations and recommitted to working with us to improve sales. To accelerate sales, we initiated Project JumpStart nearly three weeks ago. Since then, nearly two hundred Palm Brand Ambassadors, supplemented by Palm employees from Sunnyvale, have been training Verizon sales reps across the U.S. on our products. Early results from the stores have already shown improvement on product knowledge and sales week over week. You may have also seen a growing number of Palm ads on billboards, bus shelters, buses, and subway stations—all getting the word out about Palm.

All of these efforts are examples of how we are working to accelerate adoption and grow distribution of webOS. In the next few weeks, your management will work with you to make sure your priorities are laser-focused, primarily on helping to increase sales, improve product quality and differentiate the Palm product experience.

Our goals are taking longer than expected to achieve, but I am still confident that our talented team has what it takes to get the job done.

We’ll schedule an all-hands meeting after our earnings announcement in March, and I’ll be happy to answer your questions.

Go team!!!

jon

Palm has bet it all on the success of webOS and their Palm Pre and Pixi, recently adding Verizon and, hopefully soon, AT&T. Sales on both Sprint and Verizon networks has been disappointing and they will be competing with the likes of the iPhone on AT&T’s network, so hopefully they can pull a rabbit out of their hat and once again become a major player in an already crowded field of smartphones. Do you think Rubinstein’s email inspires confidence?

source: WSJ

It’s unclear if Palm’s recent announcement about lowering its fiscal year 2010 guidance had a play in Sprint lowering the price of the Palm Pixi to $49.99. Since its release with the number three wireless provider, the Palm Pixi stayed in the $99.99 price boat for a while – it was considered by many to be too high and would not garner the attention it needed at that level. When Verizon came along and introduced the Palm Pixi Plus to their webOS starved customers, they managed to offer their version at the same price – but it housed a bit more features to justify a better purchase decision than Sprint’s version. Maybe this might be an attempt to really get people to take notice now – it should’ve probably been like that from the beginning. Some argued that the original $99.99 price of the Pixi really made customers consider to upgrade to the Palm Pre which was priced at $149.99. For all we know, this move by Sprint could spell some other ominous feeling that lurks behind the walls over at Palm – or maybe it could reinvigorate sales that could potentially lead to some serious profit.
source: Sprint via PalmInfocenter

It’s the middle of the day and in the back of your mind, you have that nagging suspicion that you forgot to do something. Suddenly, it hits you. You forgot to tape the new episode of Law and Order and you know that you want to see where this week’s body is discovered. You could call the cleaning lady-but it’s her day off. Wait, you gave a set of your keys to that odd old guy across the hall. Forget it. He’s in the Bronx House of Detentions for the rest of the month. What can you do? Recently, an app was added to the Android Market that allowed for remote setting of a DirecTV DVR over an Android phone. But, as luck would have it, you have a webOS device. Good news at last! The webOS App Catalog has now added the DirecTV DVR schedule app and it is free. The one catch is that you have to have the specific set top box that will allow you to schedule your DVR from your Pre or Pixi (Plus models, too). The models that work are the DirecTV Plus DVR (models R15, R16, R22), DirecTV Plus HD DVR (models HR20, HR21, HR23) or TiVo Series 2 receivers with 6.4a software registered to DirecTV.com. The app will work on Wi-Fi, 3G or EDGE. So if you’re a DirecTV customer with the appropriate box and a webOS phone, start taping your favorite shows from just about everywhere.
source: DirecTV via Engadget

Now that Verizon is selling the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus, Palm has updated its online store and is now offering the same two webOS devices directly to you. Being sold by Palm without a contract or credit check,. the Sprint version of the phones is being offered for $549 (Pre) and $399 (Pixi). The Plus size versions of the Pre and Pixi are offered for $599 and $399 respectively. And there are third party tools to skip the usual activation process.Meta Doctor from webOS Internals will allow you to bypass the “First Use” application and activate the phone without going to a cellular network. Besides purchasing the phones directly from Palm, the pages now show other retailers like Amazon, that are offering the duo and Palm will even provide a link to their site. So if its a webOS handset you want, there are many different ways to get hooked up.
source: Palm via Palminfocenter

It was cool that Palm announced the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are coming to Verizon at this year’s CES; however, it seems that both the manufacturer and the carrier forgot to inform their loyal customers of the prices for the webOS phones. We had no idea of how much the handsets may cost until today, when a tipster told us that the Palm Pre Plus will come at a price of $149.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and of course with a contract. As for the Pixi Plus, it should be available with a BOGO promotion at a price of $99.99, again after some rebate. These prices sound reasonable indeed and are actually the same as Sprint’s. Still, bear in mind this information is by no means confirmed. If you know something else, be sure to drop us a line here. If not, we’ll surely get to know how much both smartphones will cost on January 25, which is pretty close already.
Thanks, anonymous tipster!

An anonymous tipster passed along to Engadget a picture of Sprint’s internal computer system that reveals a pink version of the Palm Pixi. With Valentine’s Day just a little less than 6 weeks away, offering up a version of the webOS device for the ladies seems not only like chivalry, but also good business sense. With the square industrial design of the Motorola DROID considered to be attractive to males, why shouldn’t Palm and Sprint offer a handset with soft feminine curves, in pink. Besides, with a name like Pixi, the phone even sounds like it has been made for the ladies. No, we’re not saying that there is anything wrong with a man owning the device. We’re merely pointing out that giving a pink Palm Pixi to your Wife or SO would probably be well appreciated on Valentine’s Day. Well appreciated.
source: Engadget

Finally, the next version of Palm’s young operating system, webOS, is about to become available for Palm Pre users (as CEO John Rubinstein promised) today, according to Sprint’s support site (guess that’s a source we can trust, right?). What webOS 1.3.5 should bring is an improved battery life while in low-coverage areas, better performance, removed app storage limit and the usual set of bugfixes. The update will surely be well-received by Palm Pre users, who want to get the most of the App Catalog, even if “most” in this particular case doesn’t really mean “a lot”. So, how’s that webOS 1.3.5 running Palm Pre of yours?
source: Sprint via Engadget

Palm reported another losing quarter as the company shipped 783,000 smartphones in the period, up 41% from last year’s second quarter but off 5% sequentially from Q1. The three month period ended November 27th and profits and revenue were under Wall Street expectations. 573,000 Palm units were sold in the three months, off 29% from the first quarter and 4% below the 2008 second period. The sell-through rate gives evidence that Palm phones are not selling like hotcakes. The company lost $85.4 million in the three months compared with a loss of  $508.6 million last year. The 2008 numbers are skewed by a charge for a tax provision. “We’re still in the early stages of a long race,” Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s CEO said.

Palm’s last chance at survival might depend on how well the Pre and Pixi sell on the Verizon network. With the emergence of the Motorola DROID, the nation’s number one carrier finally has a device that can stand next to the iPhone and while it looked like Big Red would need the Pre earlier in the year, the excitement that once greeted the rumors of a Verizon branded Pre is now gone. All of the praise that Palm had received early in the year is now being said about Motorola and all of the analysts who jumped on the Palm bandwagon early in the year have been jumping off.
source: NYTimes