BGR: 200k Pre and Pixi phones apiece for Verizon 42
Mon, 04 Jan 2010 9:50 pm EST 
If there was any hope that launching on Verizon could be a major boon for Palm’s unit sales, Boy Genius Report has stepped in to throw some ice cold water on it. According to their contacts inside Verizon, both phones are now appearing in Big Red’s inventory systems, and Verizon has apparently only order 200,000 each of the Pre and the Pixi (so 400,000 total). Previously we heard that Palm had cut their Pixi orders for the quarter by 200,000, leaving them with 600,000 units, though we were not certain how they would be distributed amongst carriers.
For what its worth, Palm managed to sell just 573,000 units to end consumers last quarter, so while 400,000 more would be a significant increase, it also doesn’t speak well of Verizon’s expectations for the webOS phones - assuming the report is accurate. Unless Palm is having trouble producing enough devices, it does raise fears that there may not be a large push from Verizon behind the Pre or Pixi. Verizon’s marketing muscle was put big time behind the Motorola Droid and the phone is thought to have sold over one million units in a matter of a couple months [corrected]. With only 400,000 rumored to be available between two models we wouldn’t expect Droid-level results.
42 Comments
I bet there IS a supply shortage. The phone is on back order for regular people right now as it is. I've been waiting forever to get a new phone.
Do we have the full facts? The answer is no!
If the informant (Verizon insider) would tell us whether the rumored 400,000 units was for 1 month or 3 months, it would help tremendously. At this point, we really do not know.
The Motorola DROID phone was released in the 1st week of November 2009. Analysts estimated that it would sell 1 million by year end. That is 500,000 phones per month.
So a potential order of 400,000 Palm Pre and Pixi phones for 1 month compares nicely with an estimated sales of 500,000 DROID phones per month; especially given the fact that Verizon was estimated to have spent $100 million promoting the DROID phone.
I therefore feel that we should think carefully about the rumor and make sure we understand the details before rushing to conclusion.
Verizon spent $100M marketing the Droid as their exclusive smartphone brand going forward with more Droid models coming. There's simply no way that they would make anywhere near that kind of investment pushing Palm phones which they share with other carriers.
exactly right.
Plus the Pre 3 or plus is not a brand new device. It's been out for over 6 months by the time VZW gets it. So I don't expect them to push it big time.
The news reporting and assumptions in this story is rather poor!
Palm may sell 2 million phones this quarter.
1. First of all, this is a rumor - which means it is not fact!
2. We do not know whether Verizon's order was for the month of January 2010 only. If for January, then here is the comparison:
(a) Palm sold 573,000 phones last quarter
(b) Order from Verizon estimated at 1.2 million this quarter
(c) Pixi sales was (mostly) not factored into last quarter
Note: This quarter estimate is computed as follows: A quarter is comprised of 3 months. Therefore 400,000 phones x 3 months = 1.2 million phones.
If this is the correct interpretation of the data, then Palm's estimated phone sales for this quarter (if the previous quarter sales holds up) should be at least 1.773 million phones.
Now, it should be noted that the sales of Pixi phones were mostly not accounted in last quarter sales. So it is conceivable that Palm's sales for this quarter will be at least 2 million phones versus 573,000 phones last quarter.
So you're basing your assumption on the premise that people who manufacture and order phones don't know the difference between a quarter and a month?
So Palm is going to sell two million of last year's phone, huh?
Sorry, but I do not understand the point you are trying to make.
Please read my statement again, but this time - please do so carefully so you can understand what I am talking about. I always make an effort to communicate clearly. I made it clear what my assumptions are based upon, so I do not feel that there is a need to repeat myself. But I will elaborate somewhat.
Quarters are typically for the financial types. Companies like Toyota use concepts like "Lean Manufacturing" or "Just In Time Production" to lower inventory costs. My question is does 400,000 units represent a month's order by Verizon or three months order?
I never said Palm "will" sell 2 million phones. I said Palm "may" sell 2 million phones if certain assumptions are made. I gave you one possible scenario. Now personally, I really do not know how many phones Palm will sell; and I do not trust the information provided in this article.
"So Palm is going to sell two million of last year's phone, huh?"
What is your point? The Palm Pre has been on the market for 7 months and the Palm Pixi for less than 2 months. How often do you think these companies need to refresh their products - once a month? Do you realize that when you sign a contract with Verizon or Sprint, you are signing a two year contract? And so you are going to hold on to that phone for two years? The hardware on these phones do not become obsolete in seven months. These phones are personal computing devices. They can last for years. The key is that their operating system (e.g. webOS) software is updated frequently.
"Verizon
I'm glad Derek corrected himself. It took 1-1.5 months for the Droid to reach a million sales.
I really hope this report is wrong, that is a seriously low number for palm... What carrier are you on blatherdrift?
well just maybe, they are waiting to put there order in for a new model????
The statement "the Motorola Droid and the phone sold over one million units in a few days," is absolutely false. Verizon MAY have sold 1 million in a few months, but no reputable source estimated anywhere close to 1 million phones in a few days. Estimates ranged from 100,000 to 250,000. You should update your article to incorporate an actual estimate of Droid sales.
Droid beat pre to verizon and this is consolation prize for second.
so does this mean we can place our names on a waiting list yet?
Maybe because they're old devices by now? A touch of wifi or a bit more storage doesn't mean much. If Palm wanted to make a big splash on Verizon, something new is needed.
does not sound good. But bgr has been wrong. And we don't know the details, what if this is a monthly order not a quarterly, what if its the pixi and pre and the "plus models" are to follow?
Wow.
There has to be more to the story.
Oh well. Just a few more days to CES.
I love the Pre but I think I am starting to become one of those who think Palm is just a little to late on everything. I hope they are able to do enough to stay around but they are not winning any great amount of market share any time soon. I hope for a big CES, but as it is I would be surprised if what is a big CES for us has any big impact overall to Palm's sales.
Nah I think Palm is on the right track. The question is if they can weather the storm long enough until they're back in the green. Palm was in a freefall and it takes some doing for them to come back from that.
In my humble estimation, these next two quarters are critical. If Palm can't deliver, then it's pretty much over..... again, just my opinion.
i'm with you. It seems like Palm's products seem to be third best in a lot of things whether it's music, or storage, video recording, apps. I get the feeling that what they plan to release this year will not match it's competitors when judged by someone without a bias for palm products. Kinda how the Palm got released with 8 GBs when the Iphone got 32GBs. Here's to hoping CES they leap in front in some categories
In as much as it is good not to have a bias for Palm, it is equally as good not to have a bias against Palm!
Do you know whether the rumored 400,000 units ordered is for 1 week, 1 month, 1 year, or 10 years? Do you see my point? We do not have enough information from the news to come to any conclusion!
Yeah but most consumers do have a bias against Palm or no bias at all so i think you have to account for that cause they are the majority of consumers. They are going to buy the higher spec, more feature filled slickest product.
not really sure how the units ordered relates to my comment. I didn't talk about it only my guess that palm will release a product whose specs will be lower then it's competitors in terms of features, processor, memory, camera, voice recording, social networking, video, general media playback. That sort of thing. I have no opinion on the truth of the article. At this point it's unverified speculation. But i don't recall commenting on it just the posters belief that Palm is a step behind. If that wasn't clear that i was referring to that well i hope it is now.
I hear you - it seems I clicked and responded to the wrong post (sorry for that!).
Now in reference to your post, the camera in terms of quality is top notch. The memory is adequate for most people (including me). Things like voice recording I am sure will come. I think the main advantage is webOS which is awesome. But look at how often we spoke about Palm not providing 3D API access to the graphics subsystem, and then they delivered. I think the big thing for Palm was to improve battery life and performance which they have done with webOS 1.3.5. So at this point, I feel their sales will definitely pickup (especially since they are going to be on Verizon).
BRG has never written anything positive on Palm, like Techcrunch.
The guy at BRG was also pissed to have been excluded from the Palm review list and so got a prototype and wrote the first negative review on the Palm Pre - calling it plasticky. The rest is history.
Derek should know better before posting vapor ware news from BRG.
You bring up a good point... consider the source. But BGR is merely reporting their intel this time, not giving their opinion.
"calling it plasticky."
Not that you're wrong but uh isn't the Pre made of a lot of plastic?
1.3.5.1 is out for email.
Check the newest article on the pink Palm Pixi from BRG and tell me they are just reporting and not giving their opinion...
i see your point. that said right below that is an article about Quake on the Pre with zero snide comments or opinion. That being said, I really do yawn at a pixi let alone a pink pixi.
Right, and he also wrote a review using a prototype unit he got illegitimately that didn't even have the latest version of the software running and trashed it as much as he could. I've since added BRG in the same black list as macdailynews. People not be trusted.
I don't mind criticisms on the Pre - there have been many that were valid and a lot of those published here are like that. But over at BRG, they are card carrying Apple lovers that trash not just Palm but any other mobile maker (except for BB).
You mean to tell me that reporting that Verizon is cutting their order numbers was done to boost morale for Pre supporters and Palm shareholders. I say, in the grand tradition of Macdailynews, it was a cheap poke at a company they don't want to see succeed.
FYI - I had an iPhone (ATT) and returned it because the camera is terrible, had a DROID (Verizon) and returned it because the camera is terrible and it weighed and felt like a brick, had an OMINA II (Verizon) and returned it because of bad picture quality and very hard to use. Got and kept the Pre - it has some flaws but overall - it meets all my needs for calls, pictures, apps, OS, feel of handset, etc. Turns out that Sprint had the best cell phone plan also.
Ya know I am so sick of BGR!!! Always takes a dump on Palm! Derek get off reporting on the troll sites, PLEASE!!! I refuse to visit that site, it is "Rumor in; Garbage Out" Screw them!
Of course, we're all entitled to our opinions but Palm has clearly stated why they chose Sprint to launch the Pre and Pixi. Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile have sold Palm phones in the past. However, (and my numbers might be wrong, but) nearly 60% of Palm's sales were from Sprint. With this info, it's very clear which company was best for Palm to introduce WebOS through. Secondly, I think that sometimes as Palm lovers, we get a lil' antsy that other phones, like Droid and iPhone, get more publicity than our beloved Pre & Pixi. We shouldn't. We should be happy that Palm is even in the game. Palm is tiny compared to Apple, Motorola and RIMM; it's market share at less than 2 billion, pales in comparison to AAPL's $192B, MOT's $18B and RIMM's $37B. Let's sit back and cheer Palm, first into profitability, and then into competition with the others. It wouldn't shock me if Palm could only afford to produce 400,000 phones for Verizon; let's just hope they sell fast.
Amen
well put
I stoped reading BGR along time ago. They are not a gadget site as much as they are a iphone fanboys site. Every article sense WebOS came out, has been taking a HUGE crap on Palm. Derik you should know better :-(
Just wondering if the Droid is such a big seller, how come the Pre is outselling it on both Amazon and Best Buy. I've only seen one out in the wild and wasn't impressed. The phone is down right ugly and uncomfortable to hold.
check check it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HrP1kXOypuQ
Wow, is that true? Droid being outsold by Pre on Amazon and Bestbuy? Well, maybe because they're practically giving them away now, not to mention you pay almost half the cost on your cell plan. But who cares, right? As long as we're making some ground somewhere. I agree about the Droid not being attractive too. When I first saw one, I was way more impressed with the Eris. Let's all just hope Palm can weather the storm.
Add me to the list of people who wish that PreCentral (or any other site) wouldn't give BGR oxygen. Their news is biased, and they don't usually give reliable information.