Aryamehr

Palm Pre: Gauging Success Will Take Time

Geddy, BTW I don't work for Sprint/Nextel, nor do I work for Palm. Nor have I ever worked for both these companies, however I do think you quite possibly are working for their competitors. This is America, and what we try to do here is create competition. There is nothing wrong with having a contravening opinion, however it is wrong to misinform the public. I have always advocated "Trust and Verify" or "Never to trust anyone" when it comes to making important decisions. Wise people have the ability to trust their own perceptions by extrapolating and making their own conclusions. Again all you need to do is download three different, commonly known websites using the PRE, iPhone and the Storm and the truth will be in front of your eyes. So anyone doubting my claims needs to find a friend, family member or an acquaintance to download these sights simultaneously using these phones. The FACTS will show that Sprint/Pre eats ATT/iPhone alive in download speeds in most metro areas.

Palm Pre: Gauging Success Will Take Time

The Pre trumps the iPhone on almost every category. The first thing I did was test the download speeds of Sprint/Pre against the ATT/iPhone. The results weren't even close, the pre downloaded ESPN, CNN & ABC at least twice as fast as the iPhone, this was also true against the Verizon/Blackberry Storm. The Pre's camera was much clearer and displayed colors with more contrast. The battery life was excellent contrary to reports I heard on the internet. I loved the Touchstone charger, it is intuitive and innovative. Its multifunctioning capacity is just unbelievable, it can simultaneously keep over ten websites running. The iPhone is limited to one. IMHO the size was perfect, contrary to the iPhone, it fits perfectly into the palm of one's hand. The phone also has a decent qwerty keyboard, another item lacking in the iPhone. The battery can be changed, which the iPhone is incapable of doing. It does lack an Application Store of any note, however that won't be a problem since its WebOS was designed with the purpose of using programming languages familiar to tens of millions of developers.

Please use the phone and verify my claims to the Pre's Speed. It is going to be near impossible for the iPhone to trump the Pre any time into the near future and I don't think anything innovative will be coming out of the WWDC this week.

Palm is here to stay and with time they will eat into Apple's territory. It is just a matter of time before everyone sees how good this device truly is.

Palm vs. Apple vs. RIM: The Mobile OS Wars Heat Up

The group to watch is Rubinstein and team. They are not only on par with Apple in the quality of engineers but their prescience IMHO is definately ahead of our time. I am glad you mention Sprint's network and how much faster it is from that of ATT's. I too have wondered how they get away advertizing that they have the fastest Network Speeds in the industry. Sprint's 3G network has proven itself over and over again that in most instances it is faster and more reliable, not to mention cheaper than that of ATT's. Now throw in their 4G platform and you will have difficulty seeing ATT anywhere but puckering their hind lips spinning about what they intend to do in the future with their LTE version of 4G. The industry pundits have responded that for ATT to have a ubiquitous 4G network earlier than 2012 would be a miracle.
Sprint had two issues that needed to be resolved after its merger with Nextel. The first was Customer Service and the second was a quality smart phone that could emulate the iPhone or Storm. Since the inception of the new management team in Q1 of 2008 Sprint has executed with precision, under the auspices of their new CEO, Dan Hesse. Every survey in the nation will manifest that their customer service has improved drastically. In some areas they have even won the title of having the best Customer Service. The second issue was their ability to offer quality Smart phones, that has also been taken care of with the launch of numerous Blackberries, the impending launch of the Pre and a slew of new phones that are due this summer from Motorola and numerous Asian manufacturers with Android based OS's. Now couple this with the organic restructuring that will manifest additions to their Cash balances ($4.5 Billion) and reduction in liabilities. What few of us know is that Sprint is also in possession of a much coveted wireless Spectrum of licenses that are worth $10's of billions. Sprint also has reinvigorated its Boost Mobile subsidary, which is unequivocally the best nationwide Pre-Paid service in the nation. Last quarter they had close to 800,000 net subscriber additions to their service and it appears that this pace of growth will continue through Q2, 2009. With the launch of the Pre on its 4G network Sprint will definately have an advantage over its rivals, however it will be interesting to see how Dan Hesse and company leverage this advantage while restructuring the company. To date they have done well to beat earnings estimates 80% of the time since Mr. Hesse took the helm in Q1 2008. Last quarter they beat estimates by 8 cents, while lowering their debt by $600 million and adding $800 million in free cash flow to their balances, which was substantially better than the estimates.
Yesterday I was fortunate to be able to use my friends Pre on Sprints network. Well, all I can say it went far beyond my expectations. What I also liked about the phone was its size, it fits into the palm of your hand as though it was an integral part it. On the morrow the public will get their chance to see that the Pre is no hype but rather a phone that will unequivocally emulate the iPhone and put Sprint back on the right glide path.

Preview of Palm's Pre: Being Good Is Not Always Good Enough

If you are skeptical I suggest you use the phone before you make any disparaging remarks. This phone will impress anyone who can put their partiality aside, it is just the best! Until you can find me a human without flaws I suggest you come down to earth and accept near perfection, because this phone is as close to near perfection as possible, considering the current technologies available. What impressed me the most is its ability to simultaneously have 7 of my applications open and running at the same time, unlike the iPhone. Yes it is energy consuming, however Palm gave us the option to change the battery if need be, unlike the iPhone. It has a decent qwerty keyboard, unlike the iPhone. It has a superior UI than that of the iPhone and its Speed, when matched against the iPhone, is beyond ones expectations. I don't know if credit should be given to Sprint or the Pre, nevertheless, it downloads data much faster than the iPhone. Anyone hoping for Palm's demise must be out of his mind. Palm has truly made me a believer. My congratulations goes to all those that made this phone possible.

Does Sprint Have Any Steam Left?

What no one mentions is that when Sprint's exclusivity runs out it will have a national 4G network, whereas VZ and ATT will still be at least two years behind, unless you wish to believe in their spin. Any expert in morphing one platform to another will tell that the process is extremely time consuming and expensive. ATT just recently, on Friday indicated that they would be rolling out their upgrade in 2011, however the cognoscenti in this field have indicated it is more likely to be in 2012. Predicated on this any company wishing to manufacture a 4G Smart phone, like the Pre would be wise to have their devise offered at Sprint. Another way to look at it would be to ask whether the consumer would rather have a Pre running on a 4G network that cost $99/mo. or would they rather have a Pre running on a 3G network costing $150/mo. from ATT or VZ for all you can use Voice/Texting/Internet?

The Pre will unequivocally, at the very least, contain the bleeding of Sprint's Post-Paid customers that were yearning for a quality Smart phone. If the hype surrounding the Pre turns out to be correct, I even expect to see a positive churn rate. This being said one also needs to look at their Pre-Paid subsidary, Boost Mobile, which is the fastest growing national Pre-Paid wireless carrier in the US, with net additions of approx. 800,000 in Q1,2009.

With free cash flow of approx. $800,000,000 added to its balance sheet and $600,000,000 being subtracted from its debt in Q1,2009, Sprint still managed to beat Earnngs estimates by 8 cents, leaving it with $4.5 Billion in cash.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

In case you didn't know, the Pre is designed to work on Sprint's 4G platform and is much cheaper than the iPhone, $50/month, which is $1,200 over the life of the two year contract. Great deal! a better phone than the iPhone, a 4G platform compared to ATT's 3G and $1,200 cheaper. Even if other carriers carry the Pre in 2010, Sprint will still be the only carrier with a 4G platform offering the Palm Pre. It is also my understanding that Sprint also has a slew of new Smart phones which are expected this summer.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

ATT's plans with regard to upgrading their platforms are at this moment nothing but plans. According to recent surveys regarding data download Speeds in 12 major US cities, Sprint outdid ATT in 10 of those cities. This was done comparing their 3G networks, however Sprint's 4G network has begun to come online and ATT is nowhere to be seen other than a with a headline heralding their future intentions.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

SiliconValleyJoe, a bird in your hand is better than a thousand flying above your head.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

Two aforementioned questions: Speed and wherewithal; Sprint's 3G download speeds are already the fastest in the industry and I can only assume their Wimax 4G is substantially faster or else they would have never invested 10's of billions into it. With regard to Sprint's wherewithal all you need to do is looks at their latest financials and you will notice they have $4.5 billion in cash and $3 billion dollars in cashflow with a $1.4 billion dollar credit line. They have the best prepaid subsidary, Boost, in the market and the Pre will be their ace in the hole. Their subsidary, Clearwire, which is 51% owned by Sprint was created with a consortium that included the dream team of Tech; Intel, Google, Samsung. They also include investors such as Time/Warner and Comcast. You can rest assured this was not done in vain. According to clearwires public statements they will have 10 major US cities covered with 4G by the end of this year. This should give Sprint a two year reprieve to catch up with ATT and VZ.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

GetMeOnTop, history is replete with many Davids that have defeated Goliaths with a simple slingshot.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

Palm's price at $1.5 billion is cheap if you believe they will prevail, which I do, however Shorting Palm based on sentiment will give the Shorts a fleeting reprieve, but they may be surprised to see strong resistance when the consumer gets their hands on their new devise.

Three Strikes from Apple and Palm May Be Out

One thing you fail to mention is the Pre's ability to function on 4G platform, which is 10 times faster than 3G. ATT according to the pundits will be lucky to have a fully funcitoning 4G platform before 2012. Now tell me how Apple will counter that when it is constrained to ATT?

The Palm Pre: Can One Device Save Two Companies?

Palm would need to sell approx. 3 million Pres to make an estimated $1 billion, assuming it netted a little more than $300 per phone. Now consider the accessories that accompany the phone, such as the Touchstone charger, which are higher margined products and you could be looking at $1.5 billion. This is close to Palm's market capitalization. The publics sentiment is also a very important factor in assessing Palm's value. If the Palm is well received its stock could gain substantial currency, hence enabling the company to do equity financing to raise funds in lieu of paying hefty fees to borrow.

Why Is Sprint Launching the Pre Two Days Before Apple's WWDC?

Geddy once again you keep on making arguments about future greatness. Wimax is here LTE is nowhere, regardless of where it will be in 2 to 3 years from now. ATT will do this, ATT will do that, ATT is doing this in the future, ATT wants to do that. My question to you is where's the beef? The facts can be corroborated everywhere you look, Sprint currently has Baltimore and Portland running on 4G platforms and by the end of this year they will have 10 different metro areas with 4G and by the end of 2010 over 120 million consumers will have access to 4G while ATT will still be pondering over its "great futuristice LTE platform." Who are you trying to fool? Now we hear Apple will not be releasing any new phones on June 7th. The rumor mills indicate that at best it will be at the end of July. It is my understanding that the Pre is already sold out before its release. It seems the consumer has already reserved the first batch that is to be released on June 6th. Again the Pre will rule supreme on Sprint's 4G Wimax platform and they will have free reign for at least 2 years, yes two years.

Why Is Sprint Launching the Pre Two Days Before Apple's WWDC?

Just a quote from Cramer, in case you are a fan of his, he said that Palm could end up being a long-term player, though. "Sell some after the hype, but then if it goes back down, you buy it. Palm's got some really smart people behind it."

I would like to emphasize his last sentence!