Will the Palm Pre without a contract cost $1000?

Will the Palm Pre without a contract cost $1000?

Sam Symons on 04 May 2009 - 07:45 · 32 comments & 6768 views

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Wait, what? Here's one case of when it's hoped that a rumor is just that: a rumor. According to BGR, Palm's upcoming Pre smartphone will eviscerate your wallet, rendering it a hefty $1000 poorer, if you decide to go without a contract. $1000 is a lot for a phone, though it won't cost that much for a phone on contract.

How much is this device rumored to cost otherwise? Well, new customers with a 2-year contract will be set back $199.99, whereas existing customers upgrading will be charged $299.99 to get their hands on a Pre. Again, though... without a contract, they expect a $1000 whomping.

The Pre is expected to go on a trial sale on June 7th, via the carrier Sprint, and will have about 4,500 units distributed throughout Best Buy Mobile locations all throughout the United States. Remember, this is just a rumor, but you never know... some have been known to come to fruition. Let's hope this isn't one of those examples. Fire away, Neowinians!

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#1 +Vice on 04 May 2009 - 09:52

That is really expensive it better give sexual favours with a Price tag like that.

I hope it doesn't turn out to be true!

#2 Seventh Son on 04 May 2009 - 09:57

That's what most smartphones cost in Europe. Not surprised.

#3 wildduck on 04 May 2009 - 10:09

yup, so it will proberly cost 1500$ in Europe... Insane

#4 ranasrule on 04 May 2009 - 10:19

lol....1000 bucks..... ill stick with my HTC Diamond

#5 Klownicle on 04 May 2009 - 12:32

This rumor has been debunked by SpringInsider. Definatly NOT 1000$, and not Pre-launching Exclusively to bestbuy, and WILL have more then 4500 units.

(2 replies) #6 diabulos on 04 May 2009 - 12:37

I am sorry, but smartphones here in Europe don't cost 1000 bucks or more. The average is about 416.183 USD to 500.

#6.1 Seventh Son on 04 May 2009 - 13:19

Google Touch HD's price in UK

#6.2 +Chipshop on 05 May 2009 - 09:14

Picked one up for £350 hardly a thousand $ but not $416 either

(1 reply) #7 Sebaz Vista on 04 May 2009 - 12:51

I wouldn't pay even $50 for this. In 2006 I paid $200 for a brand new Palm Tungsten E2 purchased directly from Palm, which had a warranty of three months, and three and a half months later it stopped working. Palm required $135 to fix it, so needless to say, I never sent it, and I will never buy another Palm product again. They are crap, and Palm knows it, since they only give a three month warranty.

#7.1 Nose Nuggets on 05 May 2009 - 00:38

Sebaz Vista said,

dont you think its a bit ridiculous to make the blanket claim that Palm is crap based on your single experience? especially with a wealth of information and literally thousands of reviews at your fingertips?

i would submit that it is. especially considering Palm has been in the field of devices like these since the beginning.

#8 thealexweb on 04 May 2009 - 13:02

The Palm Pre is an ok phone, nothing special. Makes the iPhone look like a good deal.

#9 Sean Bradford on 04 May 2009 - 13:12

I highly doubt Palm would set a base price that high without a contract. The $450-$670 range sounds better.

#10 Magallanes on 04 May 2009 - 13:21

This one isn't 100% confirmed just yet but a ninja...

:-/

#11 Atlonite on 04 May 2009 - 13:26

erm a thousand bucks actually is not bad a decent ph here in the NZ the Nokia n95 goes for 1200 here

(1 reply) #12 dcoaster on 04 May 2009 - 13:31

Completely false rumor. This has been confirmed that the price is just a placeholder in the Best Buy inventory system. It will NOT cost $1000 without contract. Please stop spreading FALSE information.

#12.1 +Xerxes on 04 May 2009 - 21:35

That depends on the currency, here in Australia it could easily be AUD$1,000+. My ancient Nokia N95-3 is still worth ~AUD$1,000 here, so I have no trouble beleiving the Pre is that much.

(1 reply) #13 dcoaster on 04 May 2009 - 13:31

#13.1 excalpius on 04 May 2009 - 17:43

I have to ask why even post such obvious drivel on the front page of Neowin, you know?

#14 +NienorGT on 04 May 2009 - 13:56

The iPhone 3G 16GB "unlocked" cost $1030CAD here...
HTC Touch HD is $999CAD...

So, it's not surprising. But I don't think it's true, from what I saw, the Pre will be a wonderful phone/palm, but nothing to compare to the iPhone in terms of multimedia features and gaming capability. I don't think it will be fair to put it to the same price.

#15 Deihmos on 04 May 2009 - 14:20

There is no way this phone will cost $1000.00. I can't believe this ended up being news.

#16 epple on 04 May 2009 - 15:15

Remove this article or correct it.

(1 reply) #17 Shadrack on 04 May 2009 - 15:19

Seems expensive. Maybe they are setting the high price in order to make the contracts look more attractive.

#17.1 Robin.B on 04 May 2009 - 15:48

Did you read anything written above in the comments?

#18 alarson83 on 04 May 2009 - 19:21

Even if it was $1000, couldnt you just get the phone for $2-300, and cancel the contract early if you didnt want the contract for another $200?

#19 Shane Pitman on 04 May 2009 - 20:20

new customers with a 2-year contract will be set back $199.99, whereas existing customers upgrading will be charged $299.99 to get their hands on a Pre.

I went through that with Sprint on my last upgrade. It's insane to treat your existing customers with less regard than new clients. I managed to get in contact with the office of Gary Forsee, the then CEO of Sprint, and they took care of the problem. I guess the new CEO, Dan Hesse, hasn't figured out for himself that you can't retain existing customers by giving them less benefits than new customers.

#20 m.keeley on 04 May 2009 - 22:04

$999.99 looks like such an obvious place holder until they update it with the real price.

As for calling the site The Boy Genius Report surely it's not really a bloke with a highly inflated opinion of himself or is it an Engadget type site?

#21 medium_pimpin on 04 May 2009 - 22:15

Sounds like Sprint/Palm is getting in the business of checking prostates...

#22 +StevoFC on 04 May 2009 - 22:16

As someone already said, just get it with a contract and cancel. it would cost less.

(1 reply) #23 cabron on 04 May 2009 - 23:01

$1000 for a damn cell phone? they can stick the phone up their ass.

#23.1 Nose Nuggets on 05 May 2009 - 00:40

cabron said,

$1000 for a damn cell phone? they can stick the phone up their ass.

why would they do that? apparently they think they can sell them for $1000. if i had the option of selling my product for a grand a pop or shoving it up my own ass i would...well it does have that vibrate feature....

#24 cropcircles on 05 May 2009 - 01:34

Palm Pre costs $170 to make: iSuppli "Reuters Wed Apr 29, 2009 4:18pm EDT"

http://www.reuters.com/article/technologyN...E53S7QZ20090429

"ISuppli expects Palm will try to sell the Pre to wireless carrier Sprint Nextel Corp for about $300, but said the actual cost to consumers will be around $200 due to an expected carrier subsidy."

#25 XeonBuilder on 05 May 2009 - 15:02

My office said it would cost around $200-$300. Normal people wouldnt spend $1000 to talk on the phone. At least not people who work for a living

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Will the Palm Pre without a contract cost $1000?

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