14 DAY TRIAL // Palm's Pre smartphone, currently sold exclusively through the wireless carrier Sprint in the US, and expected to soon hit Canada on Bell, will be available for purchase this weekend at The Shack (or RadioShack, in case you haven't learned already that it plans on changing its name). The offer at the retailer will also include a smaller price tag for the device, but only for new customers with Sprint, it seems.
“From August 7-9, the Palm Pre will be available for only $149.99 on new two-year activations with a Sprint Everything Plan of $69.99/month or higher. At $50 off, it's our lowest price ever! (Two-year upgrade pricing will remain at $219.99),” is what an internal memo from The Shack states, preThinking reports. Those willing to benefit from the offer should head to the nearest RadioShack and grab their Pre.
For what it's worth, the price might not seem as appealing as the $99 Best Buy listed recently. According to news on the Web, Best Buy might indeed drop the Palm Pre cost to the $99 mark at a certain point this month, so it will also come to those willing to wait for it. In the meantime, if you can hardly wait to get the Palm Pre, you have the $149.99 offer from The Shack.
Palm Pre's sales are reportedly settling down at 25k per week, and it seems that Palm and Sprint are trying to boost them a little. The handset is a great alternative to other high-end phones available on the market, including the Apple iPhone, though its main problems seem to be the fact that it comes with a completely new operating system, the webOS, and that there are not too many applications available for it. Things will certainly change in the near future, as Palm is ramping up application development, though it still remains to be seen how well the Pre will be received on the market compared to other solutions.