Palm serious about AT&T Training: 'Practice' Pre Pluses en route? 16
Engadget has word that select AT&T will be receiving 'practice' Palm Pre Plus phones tomorrow for select employees can use for learning / training. Given the problems that Palm has had with buy-in amongst Verizon employees (necessitating 'Project Jumpstart' to evangelize the platform within the company), we can only see this as a smart move. Whether or not this means that we might see an AT&T launch sooner rather than later remains to be seen. The leaked slide does make it pretty clear that these devices are not meant to be seen by prying eyes.
Combine this with the fact that Verizon just slashed prices on webOS products and we can draw at least one conclusion: there's a concerted effort to turn webOS sales around.
Thanks to everybody who sent this in!
16 Comments
Good for Palm, looks like they learned something from the mishaps of the Verizon launch.
Realistically speaking, they will still need AT&T employees to show enthusiasm behind the Pre--I hope they have active plans to talk to sales reps and/or the trainers. With the iphone hardware upgrade and Android phone upgrades on other carriers coming up in the summer, Palm has a short window.
Palm should install some cool/unique apps to the demo devices so that when customer check out the phone, they can play with it. If they found an app they like, they will buy the phone.
This app is cool and unique: SMS MMS Email Emoticons :-)
I hope AT&T employees show a little bit more enthusiasm than the dingbats at Verizon.
Good for Palm to at least get this going early... Hope they can turn things around by June...
+1 for Palm learning from their launch mistakes with Verizon. I hope ATT emplyees will be open to WebOS in a world where the iphone is king.
April fools much?
Definitely not an April Fools joke.
carriers (at least their sales reps) have been making a concerted effort to kill webos. Sure, I'll take whatever flavor of android you're pushing and wait to feel like a chump when the next version is released.
I agree with what one of the above posters said:
verizon employees are "digbats".
Hope they use the demo phone and not be thrown into the junk pile.
+1 on verizon employess being dingbats! Let me tell you my story..... I'm on Sprint, have the Pre. My buddy likes my Pre and is on Stupid-rizon. We went in to get a PrePlus and the sales rep bashed the Pre sooo bad and kept trying to sale him an andriod phone. My buddy had to raise his voice and told him to get him the #$&% Pre so I can go. Now mind you this guy went on for over 30min trying to change his mind. BTW I've successfully turned an andriod user to Palm Pre. My work is done. GO AT&T (or Palm) for trying to be more flexible and give Palm a chance to shine with your customers!
Very cool. This makes me think that the Pre+ is coming to AT&T very soon.
I can't see many buying the Pre on AT&T while it sits next to the iphone. Of course it won't sit next to the iphone..the iphone gets the mini store treatment. At least throw in the hotspot app or something AT&T.
Why does AT&T need practice phones? Just go to a Verizon or Sprint store ;)
AGREED! Why go to at&t or oVercharge-ison to get a Pre??
We got our demo units today. We are a smaller store and almost half of us reps are really pumped about the Pre Plus. Granted I've had my Pre (Sprint) since November and have been able to sell some of my co-workers on it. I feel a little bad selling people iPhones when I know the Pre Plus is right around the corner. I would gladly give up my company iPhone for a Pre Plus. Once it's released The Pre Plus will be my top down phone.
I am excited. I am able to upgrade next week. When they come out we will be a iPhone (my wife) and a Pre Plus (mine) Family. It will be interesting to compare the two.