Internal Palm memo may reveal Pre launch timing

Exclusive

We’re prefacing this by saying we’re definitely not 100%, but it looks like Palm could be gearing up for a round of meetings that will lead up to the day we’ve all been waiting for — Palm Pre launch day. We just received what an anonymous tipster claims to be an internal Palm memo regarding some meetings that will take place in early June. According to the document, the meetings will conclude on Friday June 5th with what is labeled “LAUNCH LUNCH!”

Now, it’s likely a safe assumption that Palm isn’t going to leave much time for info to leak out between these supposed meetings and launch time. As such, it looks like the day of reckoning is either going to be Friday June 5th, Saturday June 6th or Sunday June 7th — and yes, Sunday is historically Sprint’s launch day but this is the Pre we’re talking about so switching things up isn’t out of the question. Giving some additional credence to the scenario by the way, is the fact that Best Buy is slated to begin its trial launch of the Pre on June 7th, meaning Sprint will most definitely launch the handset before or on that date. Getting excited yet? Hit the jump for the full memo.

89 Comments
  • Zola

    You’re kidding right. I once worked at Sprint and am now with another large telco. Mistakes like that happen all the time. Still could be a fake, but that don’t clinch it. Where’s the damn phone?!

  • JessPk

    I concur with Christopher Cox. I live in New York City and I get great service here and I find the coverage great. When I visit my family down south it’s a different story, had I not have roaming on my plan my bill would hit the roof while I was with them.

    Though I have recently started reading/viewing videos on the Pre as quickly as it gained my interest it lost it 3x fast. All the misleading and hush hush about the release date was frustrating and my patience wore thin. I plan on playing with this phone when it comes out to see if I’ll actually enjoy it. Though it seems very promising I would like to see the reviews and comments about it.

    Those concerned about the “benfit” typo IT HAPPENS this was made by a person like someone mentioned earlier “an 18 yr old secretary”. I can’t tell you how many memos/letters from my and other companies I have seen, it happens we’re human we make mistakes. For some reason I have a strong feeling the release date will be May 17th.

  • Jeff

    @ JessPK

    You are on Sprint? If that is the case; where down south do you go and when is the last time you where there?

    I live in SC now, but travel all over this state mainly for my job. I also go to NC, GA, VA and occasionally FL. I never have any problem with Sprint, even up north.

    I can say there are phones out there that are terrible, and make it seem like it is the service,for example anything Motorola. My Mogul works great. If they live out in the sticks, I could see the reception being bad. But anyone shopping should look at the coverage maps first for any carrier.

  • Daniel R

    personally im over this phone, and its not even out!! sprint needs to get there stuff together before i start paying my monthly bill to someone else. last i checked, we pay sprint monthly, but you ask anyone at sprint about upcoming phones, they treat you like your asking for their social security number!!

  • http://www.myspace.com/rhapmusicismusic rhapvee

    I agree with alot that has been said here but I feel compelled to point out a few points. Before I start, this is gonna be a bit long, so if you don’t wanna read it, skip to the next post and spare me the negativity. THANKS in advance… Now:

    @crashoverride
    I think you just said what I’m about to say in about 300 less characters! THANKS! :)

    @Christopher Cox
    You’ve done your research and obviously know what the hell you’re talking about, much more than can be said for some others here! (HA!) Thanks for your input.

    @B
    “Perhaps releasing the Pre immediatly prior to the iPhone launch is a strategic move to give it more press?”

    Very good point. Sometimes being mentioned in the same sentence as your competition is a good thing and can translate to buzz, and all press is good press, as long as people are talking. Palm and Sprint CERTAINLY have the talking part covered!

    IMO, Apple changed the wireless game when they announced the iPhone. NUFF SAID, so all the iPhone haters can relax. Think about it; a VERY responsive UI, visual voicemail and the industry leading music app ALL IN ONE…? If this wasn’t the case, we wouldn’t be here now hoping that the Pre can match wits. Contrastly, all the iPhone owners who love to gloat about how amazing the iPhone need to admit that ATT has never been able to match the glamour of the iPhone with it’s service. Be honest. Not to mention, Apple/ATT must know something about the Pre that we all don’t or they wouldn’t have “leaked” their own little Pre-bashing document a few weeks ago (http://tinyurl.com/chz497). And without features like “cut/paste”, MMS and application multi-tasking, the iPhone could be summarized by some as a novelty device with an ish load of available apps.

    As a former Verizon user/employee, former ATT user/employee (before the first Cingular acquisition), former TMO user and current Sprint user, I will say hands down, Verizon has the best service. No carrier will ever be able to cover 100% of the globe and those who truly understand how cellular service works would prolly agree. That in mind, most people follow the device their willing to fall in love with and hope that the provider with that device is somewhat up to par. And, keep in mind that if you are bashing a carrier based off of your experience in a particular area, you’re only seeing half the picture. My disdain for ATT comes from usage of their service in all of the areas where I use my phone. Verizon works best, Sprint works good enough, ATT and TMO not so much.

    Example: I’m not the biggest fan of ATT’s wireless service (ok I HATE it, wireless, internet, telephone…just bad luck all around so excuse my bias). As a former employee, I know first hand that when Cingular swallowed ATT, the bulk of those cell sites got sold to TMO, which is why the Cingular service was just as crappy as prior to the acquisition and TMO’s service got just a tad bit better afterwards. So, as much as I am an anything Apple whore and would love to run out and by an iPhone, not gonna happen. I HATE the carrier. Love the device, but I’m not willing to deal with the carrier just to have the phone of my dreams. Verizon is just too damn expensive and TMO, well, at least they have the G1 (and lest we forget, the Sidekick, which did rather well for them as well)! Sprint on the other hand has decent service, a truly “unlimited” plan that kicks gluts, a few moderately decent devices (HTC Touch Pro and Diamond) and now they have a pretty good (remains to be seen) device in the Pre. I just hope it lives up to the hype.

    My advice to everyone, pick what works for you, state your opinion and be respectful of others’ opinions. The more you know, the more you grow! And it makes the forums and blogs a much nicer environment to share ideas and info…

    Peace

  • Christopher Cox

    @rhapvee,
    I agree with everything you said, albeit a bit long. LOL. Like you, I have been with just about every carrier except Sprint. And this includes Cricket and Virgin Mobile. Verizon did have the best service out of all of them, although AT&T is not far behind them in my area. I laugh when people argue that their carrier is the best (speaking of service quality) because they only speak for their carriers performance in THEIR market or markets in which they have spent a lot of time. The BEST carrier for you is the one that provides the market YOU are in with the best service.

    Personally though, I tend to put device over everything else especially because AT&T is not that far behind Verizon around here. So, because I put focus on device, I can say whole heartedly that Sprint is not for me because, well, they don’t have the best phones (maybe Pre will change that? even then, it is only one phone).

    iPhone does have an ish full of apps. But it isn’t just numbers that make those apps compelling. It is the quality of the apps. Anyone who has ever spent a lot of time with iphone and have tried and purchased a bunch of apps will tell you that the other platforms don’t compare. And, with iPhone 3.0, we will have copy and paste as well as MMS. And the copy and paste will be better than the copy and paste on other platforms because it will be more than text. When you are browsing for example, iPhones implementation allows you to drag a box around not only text, but images as well. Copy and paste everywhere else allows just simple text copying.

  • B.M.W

    I just got done talking to one of my friends who manages a sprint store. He has informed me that Sprint has set blackout dates for the entire month of June. Therefore Sprint must be expecting some big sales if they want all of their associates on hand.

  • dissapointed

    I am an employee for Sprint and understand that these things leak, but I am extremely upset at who ever posted this, can we keep anything a secret? Have you not heard of loyalty to your company???

  • JessPk

    @Jeff

    Last time I was in GA was for Christmas but for all the past summers I went I’ve had troubles with signal. Even when I went to Myrtle Beach last year I had troubles getting signal. I do believe my phone plays a possible role, know anything about the LG Muziq?

    I cannot say Sprint is the best for me since it is the only carrier I have ever had but my experiences so far have been very pleasant.

  • Christopher Cox

    @dissapointed,
    I don’t think there is loyalty with any company that is paying you minimum wage. People may like where they are working for the time being, but all minimum wage workers would drop their minimum wage jobs in an instant if a competitor offers them just a few dollars more per hour.

    Now, for people that are establishing a career with their company, there is loyalty there. But for the most part these customer service reps at the carrier stores have no loyalty. Information is leaked by them all the time.

  • Don Louie Cantone

    Mr. Christopher Cox, I see where you come from and can wait for a few weeks after the Pre comes out like you. I want to call myself a a phone junkie but can’t because of Sprint’s pigheadedness about MMS on smartphones, which partially was lifted I only wanted super phones like the Instinct (it was supposed to be) I was left wanting. The smartphones do it all for me but ptt is missing so the Pre will have to do for now

  • gmarquez1976

    GIVE ME PRE OR GIVE ME DEATH!!!!

    Ok just kidding about death but really!!! Enough with the waiting! Release the darn thing already! I have contracts with Sprint and crappy AT&T and will buy an iphone soon I SWEAR!

  • Jag

    I find it hilarious all this frenzy about up and coming phones. I have also come to realize every major carrier has highly equipped phones. Sure flashy is cool,however does flashy affect your wallet,probabably. Let’s be realistic,Sprint,Verizon,ATT,pretty much have the same coverage(don’t let any of them lie to you). Everyone is talkin 3G,didn’t Sprint say something about “introducing 4G” they launched it in Maryland,from what I understand,”phenomanal”. Let me also just tell y’all I’ve been with every carrier,Sprint has the best value,that’s all there is to it. So flashy phones will come and go,but are you spending too much for the carriers service,probably. So thank you Sprint for the reality of frugality.

  • http://none Clair

    Looks like this anonymous submission was right on!!

    Well, as a Sprint employee I can’t wait to hear what this whole “Employee Benfits” thing is!!!

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