Last week, we offered up a few scenarios of how Palm and Sprint might pricing the Pre. Analysts from Credit Suisse estimate the price may go as low as $150 if Sprint "sweetens the offer", or as we termed it "pricing for acceptance".
They believe that selling the Palm Pre at $50 below the iPhone would result in more sales volume, referencing how AT&T’s investment paid off when cutting the pricing of the iPhone 3G to $199.
The analysts fail to realize that the iPhone 3G’s data plan increased the cost of ownership over the life of the iPhone. Additionally, Apple did not have to worry about competition. If Palm were to price the Pre below Apple, they would enter into a high-stakes game whereby Apple could just as easily undercut them. There has already been widespread speculation of a $99 iPhone. Palm’s Centro has been successful and a bright spot for Palm. Despite seeing big sales volume numbers, the Centro isn’t very profitable.
Credit Suisse estimates sales of 1.3 million Palm Pre phones this year and 3 million units the following year.
[via TheStreet]
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