Talkin' Pre -- Week ending 28 August 11

Price cuts were part of the "battle for hearts and wallets" in the video gaming space with Sony and Microsoft going at each other. In the land of smartphones, an analyst wishes for a $99 (or 99-cent) Pre while T-Mobile steps up its efforts to "duke it out" with Apple and Palm.

Will the endless summer of smartphones roll into a fall of price cuts?

Let's Talk Pre!

CNBC Europe: Palm Needs Cash... Pre Last and Best Hope

A CNBC Europe Business article stated "Palm desperately needs the cash from a successful device. They have $390M in long term debt according to their latest SEC filing. $4 million is due annually until 2014, when the balance of $378 million is due. The interest payments though are substantial. They fluctuate based on market conditions, but today are around 4%, which is nearly $16 million."

Even if Palm sells one million units between launch and December 31, will that be enough cash to fund $20 million in debt and interest for the next few years, in addition to all of their normal operating and marketing expenses? Not likely.

Analyst Says - Slash the Pre’s price to $99, or even 99 cents...

John Paczkowski, in his Digital Daily column over at All Things Digital, wrote an interesting story discussing the sell through of the Palm Pre. Pali Research analyst Walter Piecyk stated weekly Pre sales are holding steady in the mid-20,000 range at which they stabilized a few weeks back. Piecyk is urging Sprint to step up its efforts to market the Pre lest it fumble the best opportunity to come its way in a while. He also suggested the best way for Sprint to maximize the opportunity presenting itself is to "Slash the Pre’s price to $99, or even 99 cents."

Oooo-kay...

Stuart Elliott (NY Times) Talks Pre Ads

In the Q & A with Stuart Elliot, the topic of the Palm Pre ads arose. His response was a rehash of what we already know (Tamara Hope, Modernista, "creepy and off-putting," and "stand out amid a sea of look-alike technology advertising").  He also pointed out the YouTube spoofs.

T-Mobile is playing it a bit safer by enlisting Whoopi Goldberg, Los Angeles Lakers coach Phil Jackson and Jesse James of the Discovery Channel's Motorcycle Mania series for its new myTouch 3G ad campaign. 

CNET's Pre vs. MyTouch 3G Prizefight

"Though not as close as some of our past cell phone Prizefights, this was still a good fight. The MyTouch narrowly captured the design and call quality rounds, but the Pre's substantial wins in the remaining three rounds were enough for it to capture the title. Perhaps as Android matures, and the number of supported devices grows, it will put up a better fight. But for now, the Pre rules."

Make sure to check out the blow by blow of this 5-round bout.

Picture this... How the Pre's Camera Stacks Up

Rachel Metz from The Associated Press took five different camera cell phones for a spin: Samsung Memoir, Sony Ericsson C905a, Casio Exilim, Nokia N97, and the Palm Pre:

"...But what the Pre shoots, it shoots well. The handset had the least amount of shutter lag of any camera phone I tried, and did a good job of adjusting the brightness of shots in different lighting situations. It generally produced sharp, color-rich photos."

Review: Pre no iPhone Killer, But Still Awesome

Speaking of iPhone, this take on the Bell Mobility Pre exclaims it is "an extraordinary gadget." It references the New Brunswick Business Journal review, that goes over "The Good, The Bad at The Ugly." Not much new here except the reviewer pointed out:

"The Palm Pre is one smart smartphone that has a lot going for it - and Apple, which isn't without its share of iPhone issues, shouldn't become too complacent with innovative devices like this nipping at its heels."

Pre vs. iPhone 3G: Wired's Levy "It's all about the apps..."

Steven Levy of Wired.com did a story titled "Why Apps will secure the Smartphone Champion."

"...But while it's great that the Pre can have more than one application open at a time, this capacity only underlines its greatest weakness—the paucity of those apps."

"...The Palm Pre did prove Jobs wrong about one thing: Apple's lead in smartphones wasn't five years but two."

Q1 FY2010 Results Call Set for September 17

Palm will be announcing its first-quarter fiscal year 2010 financial results on Thursday, Sept. 17, shortly after 4 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Pacific), followed by a conference call for the public at 4:30 p.m. Eastern (1:30 p.m. Pacific). The conference call will be hosted by Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, and Doug Jeffries, chief financial officer.  Investors and other interested parties are encouraged to listen to the call via audio webcast at Palm's Investor Relations website (http://investor.palm.com).
 

That's a wrap!