AT&T Inc., the biggest U.S. wireless provider, will enable 80 million customers the option of choosing Palm Inc.’s Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus smartphone handsets.
“AT&T and Palm have a history of smartphone leadership, and today’s announcement is a significant milestone for us,” John Rubinstein, Palm’s chief executive, said in a company statement.
The high hopes for Palm’s Pre—released in 2009 to be an aggressive competitor to the iPhone—did not eventuate. The phone maker has sold far fewer phones than expected. In its latest fiscal quarter ending Feb. 26, the company said it had sold only 408,000 units of its Pre and Pixi smartphones.
The Pre and Pixi were initially marketed as exclusive to Sprint, however Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are now advanced models and were released in early 2010. Basically, Palm enhanced Pixi Plus with Wi-Fi capability, and increased the memory and storage capacity for the Pre.
Although AT&T is the third U.S. carrier to carry Palm’s latest smartphone, the announcement appears to have made a positive impact on Palm’s stock. Its stock gained 3 percent on Monday after the partnership announcement to $4.13.
Palm’s stock plummeted below the $5 mark last week for the first time since the company introduced webOS phones. The actual launch date with AT&T has not been detailed, but it would seem Palm is banking on some solid sales with the nation’s biggest carrier.
Despite discrepancies in pricing with other telecom platforms such as Sprint and Verizon Wireless, the key feature of Nexus One on the AT&T network is that Google is advocating openness and a Web-focused directive with its product. Apple prefers to confine its users to its proprietary interface by only enabling the device to synchronize with its iTunes software.
Nexus One will be available on AT&T as an unlocked device at a cost of $529. Palm said the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus will sell for $149.99 and $49.99, respectively, with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The price on the Pixi represents a $50 reduction from the product’s launch price at Verizon just two months ago.
“AT&T and Palm have a history of smartphone leadership, and today’s announcement is a significant milestone for us,” John Rubinstein, Palm’s chief executive, said in a company statement.
The high hopes for Palm’s Pre—released in 2009 to be an aggressive competitor to the iPhone—did not eventuate. The phone maker has sold far fewer phones than expected. In its latest fiscal quarter ending Feb. 26, the company said it had sold only 408,000 units of its Pre and Pixi smartphones.
The Pre and Pixi were initially marketed as exclusive to Sprint, however Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are now advanced models and were released in early 2010. Basically, Palm enhanced Pixi Plus with Wi-Fi capability, and increased the memory and storage capacity for the Pre.
Although AT&T is the third U.S. carrier to carry Palm’s latest smartphone, the announcement appears to have made a positive impact on Palm’s stock. Its stock gained 3 percent on Monday after the partnership announcement to $4.13.
Palm’s stock plummeted below the $5 mark last week for the first time since the company introduced webOS phones. The actual launch date with AT&T has not been detailed, but it would seem Palm is banking on some solid sales with the nation’s biggest carrier.
AT&T Diversifies Smartphone Offering
The phone carrier giant is taking on a few initiatives with new suppliers. Aero, Dell Inc.’s first foray into the phone market—which uses Google’s Android operating system—will soon be released in the United States. Google’s weapon against the iPhone, the Nexus One, is also joining forces with AT&T. Currently, Apple’s iPhone is the most popular smartphone on the AT&T network.Despite discrepancies in pricing with other telecom platforms such as Sprint and Verizon Wireless, the key feature of Nexus One on the AT&T network is that Google is advocating openness and a Web-focused directive with its product. Apple prefers to confine its users to its proprietary interface by only enabling the device to synchronize with its iTunes software.
Nexus One will be available on AT&T as an unlocked device at a cost of $529. Palm said the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus will sell for $149.99 and $49.99, respectively, with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate. The price on the Pixi represents a $50 reduction from the product’s launch price at Verizon just two months ago.
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