A new research note from analyst David Eller asserts that Palm Pre sales “continue to slow” and are “likely come in dramatically below Sprint’s sales target of 1 million to 1.5 million customers this year. Eller reduced his sales estimates for the August quarter from 488,000 to 418,000. He expects the company to ship 785,000 units by the end of November. Palm will announce earnings on September 17th and it’s likely they’ll provide units sold putting an end to analyst speculation and estimates.
Eller blames the shortfall on a weak retail spending environment coupled with the slow development of the companies App Catalog. Strong competition from the BlackBerry Tour and iPhone 3GS were also factors.
On a bright note, Eller believes Palm will release the Eos in November.
[via Barron’s]
The failure of the App Catalogue is going to be the downfall of the pre. I can only hope this is recognized and is fast tracked to be corrected. Open up the App Catalogue so people can get their apps published, and users can have more choices for apps outside of what we can choose from now.
Yes, get the app catalog humming, but don’t just throw in a bunch of buggy/supper niche stuff that ends up being empty matter with an icon. The iPhone has some outstanding apps, but it also has a ton of junk… Palm can one-up the iPhone by being more selective about which apps are worthy of publication…. and not getting caught up in the numbers battle. The Pre is nowhere near app oversaturation a la iPhone, but at some point in the product cycle, adding apps for a marketing edge is form over substance…its like building a haystack… and users have to find the “needle” they are looking for. Don’t build a haystack Palm, build a fortress! Once you have a core group of killer apps, market heavily the fact that the iPhone has turned into a haystack!
I have to point the finger right back at Palm for declining interest. They really have made no effort in any community to maintain or build enthusiasm for the Pre. I recently read that marketing is about spin and control of information. Palm’s marketing is spinning out of control. More frequent minor updates to webOS would have kept Pre users excited resulting in more user generated promotion. I am no longer promoting my Pre.
Looking at the apps just announced, it doesn’t look like Palm is being too picky about them.
Please…Do you really need to post, and do you actually believe every two-bit analyst who has so little actual work that they have time to blog while posting at everythingicafe?
The app catalog just added 13 new apps today including a topshelf item like Direct TV’s Sunday Ticket..seems to me the catalog is moving towards a full blown launch soon.
Putting what amounts to nothing more then pure speculation (possibly even biased) on here and presenting it as something more taints this site.
The story was sourced by Barron’s, which I’d say was a pretty reputable publication. The addition of 13 apps is certainly a move in the right direction and we reported as much. If you’re looking for our coverage to be one-sided, it’s not going to happen, unless that position is right down the middle. We present what we feel is newsworthy relative to Palm, webOS and the Palm Pre.
yes your right,It isnt even a blogger, it is a blogger posting unsubstantiated opinion from a source with no real information.
“Town Hall Investment Research analyst David Eller asserted in a research note”
Barron’s in and of itself is a reliable publication, a blogger on its site mentioning opinion and speculation from a third party is not what I would consider reliable investment advice.
To claim that sales are “continue to slow” and “likely will come in dramatically below” without actual numbers from either Palm or Sprint reporting production and sales is simply misleading.
If you feel that blog represents what you consider newsworthy, then I apologize.
thank you for not publishing my rebuttal
I stand by my statement.
a blogger posting unsubstantiated opinion from a third party is not factual and should not be represented as such.
@leftyman
If you used the same email address, your comments would have been auto published. First time commenters require approval.
As noted in our story, “Palm will announce earnings on September 17th and it’s likely they’ll provide units sold putting an end to analyst speculation and estimates.”
We certainly look forward to hearing the numbers from Palm. Until that time, stores related to number of units being sold are certainly newsworthy. If it passes Barron’s test, it passes ours.
“a blogger posting unsubstantiated opinion from a third party is not factual and should not be represented as such.”
Our story reads, “A new research note from analyst David Eller asserts….”
Barron’s didn’t represent this as “fact”, nor did we. Barron’s reported on a research note and we did the same. Research notes are news whether it be related to a new device in the pipeline or sales.
“We present what we feel is newsworthy relative to Palm, webOS and the Palm Pre.”
Newsworthy connotes information based on fact.