14 DAY TRIAL // Mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless has just made Palm's webOS-based Pre Plus and Pixi Plus a little more appealing to its users, through dropping the mail-in rebate requirement when purchasing one of these devices. Those willing to go for a Palm handset will now be able to do so while benefiting from instant online discounts, which makes them available for purchase for as low as $149.99 and $79.99, respectively.
According to a recent article on WirelessWeek, a Verizon spokesperson commented on the move, stating that there was “a brief period where we tested mail-in rebates on some phones. We have found that online customers expect instant rebates and since this is a very competitive arena in which to do business, we responded accordingly.”
For what it's worth, the new offers put in place for Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus can be seen as an attempt from the wireless carrier to boost the sales of the two devices. As most of you might already know, Palm said that it would work together with Verizon to attract more users towards its webOS-based handsets, and it seems that this is one of the first step the two companies are making in this direction.
The move also follows Palm's recent announcement that its revenues for the third quarter of its financial year 2010 will be lower than expected. The shipments of its Pre and Pixi devices, including the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus models, are expected to be in the range of 750,000 to 800,000 units during the time frame, much lower than the previous forecast of 1 million units.
As WirelessWeek indicates, the lowered forecast suggests that Palm's Pre smartphone does not sell as good as originally expected. The handset was launched last year on Sprint's network in the US, and is already available on other markets too. Moreover, it seems that Pixi might not enjoy good sales either, something that determined Palm to halt the production of the two handsets during February.