As Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S) and Palm gear up for their all-important launch of the Pre smartphone June 6, they'll be getting some strong support from the 1,067Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) Mobile locations.
Sprint is looking at its exclusive deal to market the Palm Pre to reverse its continuing loss of subscribers. At the same time, Palm needs the Pre's novel features to return it to the front ranks of high-end mobile phones -- a position it lost to the surging iPhone and BlackBerrys.
Best Buy has been training its Best Buy Mobile employees in the finer points of the Pre so they'll be prepared for the Pre's launch.
"We believe the ability to keep multiple applications open at the same time will be a very popular feature of the Palm Pre," Best Buy's Scott Anderson said in an e-mail interview. "It promises to be one of the best-selling smartphones of the year." With the Pre's dual attraction of touch screen and slide-out keyboard, Palm hopes it will have an advantage over other smartphones.
Anderson, who is merchant director of Best Buy Mobile, noted that the company's mobile specialists are receiving "extensive training on the Palm Pre. We offer a program called Walk Out Working -- free in-store smartphone setup by a Best Buy Mobile expert who will sync e-mail accounts, set up Bluetooth peripherals, transfer contacts, and activate other services to allow the customer to leave the store with a fully functional new smartphone."
Best Buy Mobile's approach of having customers ready to hit the ground running with new smartphones -- which are complicated gizmos for many consumers -- could be particularly helpful for Pre users because of the phone's capability of running multiple simultaneous applications.
Once king of the smartphone category, Palm has watched with chagrin as its 40% smartphone market share in 2006 dwindled to 10% in recent market research studies. "This is an opportunity for Palm to invigorate itself and become a serious contender," said Nielsen analyst Roger Entner, otherwise it "could mean the end of the road for Palm."
In addition to Sprint and Best Buy stores, the Pre will be sold at RadioShack and some Wal-Mart outlets.
The phone will cost $199.99 after a mail-in rebate at most locations, although Best Buy's Anderson said an "instant rebate" will be offered at the retailer's locations. The Pre requires a two-year contract and a monthly data plan starting at $69.99 a month.
[Originally posted at informationweek.com]
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