Pre UK Debut Expected to Outshine iPhone's - 26% Want to Buy It!

SharonW · 10/12/2009, 09:03 PM

Wow! I remember reading a poll back in May that was really favorable about the interest in the Pre. It was in the UK Mirror and the interest versus the iPhone 3GS was HUGE. However, I never saw a follow-up until now:

Quote:

Palm Pre UK launch may outshine iPhone debut

Estimations released Monday suggest that this week’s launch of the Palm Pre in the UK will far outshine that of the Apple iPhone’s 2007 debut.

Market research firm TNS recently interviewed over 1,000 UK adults, with 26 per cent responding that they would definitely or probably buy the Palm Pre when it is launched on Friday, October 16. This figure is almost double the 16 per cent who said they would buy the iPhone when TNS undertook similar research in 2007.

Among existing O2 customers TNS discovered that the purchase intent figures are even more impressive, with 27 per cent keen to buy the Pre compared with just 17 per cent wanting the iPhone prior to its launch. Fortunately for O2, this suggests that the carrier could use the device to maintain customer loyalty, a useful trend given that O2 is due to lose its iPhone exclusivity deal in a matter of months.

In fact, O2 will likely benefit from its exclusivity deal with Palm, with TNS revealing that 32 per cent of respondents currently on other networks would switch to O2 in order to get hold of the Pre.

More:
Palm Pre to sell more than iPhone in UK | telecoms.com - telecoms industry news, analysis and opinion

peabrain · 10/12/2009, 09:43 PM

mmmmmm the problem is the pricing

at 34 a month its the same as the iphones (which comes with 16gb)......

if they priced it lower im sure it would have sold better, right now most (like me) arent sure what to do :S

SharonW · 10/12/2009, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by peabrain

mmmmmm the problem is the pricing

at 34 a month its the same as the iphones (which comes with 16gb)......

if they priced it lower im sure it would have sold better, right now most (like me) arent sure what to do :S

That's not what I've read, according to this article:

Quote:

To be fair, the higher interest in the Palm Pre is likely attributable to the Pre’s free-on-contract pricing. The iPhone was offered for £269, and many of those initial iPhone customers are coming up on contract renewals that would allow them to put a Palm Pre in their pockets for free. There’s also the possibility that the iPhone itself may have boosted Palm Pre awareness by way of bringing the smartphone to forefront of the consumer mind.

Palm Pre demand outpaces intial iPhone demand in UK!

Is the iPhone free on contract, too?

donm527 · 10/12/2009, 10:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SharonW

Is the iPhone free on contract, too?

Yes.

donm527 · 10/12/2009, 10:41 PM

And palm locks itself in another exclusive contract in the UK while Apple ends theres and branches out to the other providers.

Palm Pre Could Get Slight Sales Boost with O2 agreement

BTW, how long has the Pre been out in Canada? Any numbers?

Elysian893 · 10/12/2009, 10:48 PM

Those are promising numbers, but it's not 2007, it doesn't matter how it compares to the original iPhone.

SharonW · 10/12/2009, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elysian893

Those are promising numbers, but it's not 2007, it doesn't matter how it compares to the original iPhone.

The comparison is to iPhone's 2007 debut, but the 26% figure for the Pre is NOW. Right NOW 26% of respondents will or want to buy a Pre, and additionally, 32% would switch carriers to do so. That's BIG. And that's in the face of iPhone now being available on a non-exclusive basis across carriers.

I can't quite figure out why you all are so down on this. This is great news.

SharonW · 10/12/2009, 11:21 PM

This comes from the source and makes me wonder what version of iPhone is available in the UK. Is it only the original because if so, there's a very different product cycle there and no new iPhone until June, therefore leaving a wonderful window of opportunity for Palm.

Quote:

Kevin Evans, Associate Director at TNS Technology, comments: “The Palm Pre is already being touted as the ‘iPhone killer’ and our research certainly suggests it’s going to shake up the market. The decision to offer the Pre free to those on a 24-month contract is in sharp contrast to the £269 price of the iPhone at its launch, while the launch timing capitalises on the fact that thousands of UK iPhone early-adopters are approaching the end of their 18-month contract period, while the next-generation iPhone is not expected until next June.”

SharonW · 10/12/2009, 11:38 PM

Just looked it up myself. So is it the iPhone 3GS that's also free to some for the right contract or the older version or all versions? Just wondering which, if not all, iPhones the Pre is competing with on a "free" basis.

s219 · 10/12/2009, 11:42 PM

I think it's a poor idea to compare to the original 2007 iPhone. Here's why.

O2 sold 190,000 1st-gen iPhones in the first two months of sales in 2007.

In 2008, they sold roughly 300,000 3G models in the same period.

2009 long term numbers aren't available yet, but O2 disclosed that they had sold more 3GS models by lunchtime on launch day than the entire launch day of the 3G a year earlier. "We sold more iPhone 3G S devices in the first two hours than all handsets we'd normally sell in an average day." By the end of launch day, they claimed 50% increase in launch day sales (ie, to 150%) of the 3GS versus the 3G. Months later they are still having trouble keeping it in stock. I think the 2009:2008:2007 growth trend will hold or increase.

What matters is how the Pre sells compared to the iPhone 3GS in 2009. I doubt we'll see a direct comparison of that however, since the projections won't be as favorable. But hey, we can revisit this post-launch and see what really happened. I'll buy you a beer if I'm way off.

donm527 · 10/12/2009, 11:47 PM

Palm needs a software update and the app store out of beta by this Friday. I wonder if the GSM phone doesn't already have revised programming eliminating memory cap. You release a phone in uk with memory limit and no apps, not gonna be good.

donm527 · 11/07/2009, 03:46 PM

So how are the Pre sales doing over there after some time? How is it being received?

bruba · 11/07/2009, 03:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donm527

So how are the Pre sales doing over there after some time? How is it being received?

http://forums.precentral.net/gsm-pre...aunch-day.html

c_man · 11/07/2009, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by donm527

So how are the Pre sales doing over there after some time? How is it being received?

Hardly anyone (bar the phone geeks) knows about the Palm Pre here in UK.
You are lucky to see one, maybe two, adverts on TV per week.
No posters in public places.
Many O2 stores without handsets in store.
Majority of O2 staff try to sell you the iPhone when you go in and specifically ask about the Pre.

Overall, there was/is so much potential - but it just hasn't been pushed.
You mention the Palm Pre at work and most people respond "a what?"

globemaster1986 · 11/07/2009, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c_man

Hardly anyone (bar the phone geeks) knows about the Palm Pre here in UK.
You are lucky to see one, maybe two, adverts on TV per week.
No posters in public places.
Many O2 stores without handsets in store.
Majority of O2 staff try to sell you the iPhone when you go in and specifically ask about the Pre.

Overall, there was/is so much potential - but it just hasn't been pushed.
You mention the Palm Pre at work and most people respond "a what?"

Its the same here in Ireland, its not being pushed that much and only the real techy types know what it is! "My family were like a Palm what? And who are palm?" And as soon as I showed them and they played around with it they all loved it, but never heard of it before. Its only really adverstised on the o2 website and the o2 connect magazine. They have also sent targeted promotional sms to business customers, but that was smartphones in general, predominantly pre and iphone

bruba · 11/07/2009, 08:48 PM

Well, most people are just not that interested in phones. They know about the iPhone, sure, because it was world news. A phenomenon.

But most people don't know about Android, Symbian, the Droid, the Moment, the Hero, etc. If you say iPhone 3G, they say the iPhone what? If you say there's a iPhone 3G and a new 3GS, they say you lost me..

donm527 · 11/07/2009, 10:37 PM

Bell Canada just lowered to $100. Will the UK and other countries lower to $100 too?

Palm Pre price keeps sinking on Bell, down to $100

paulpenny · 11/09/2009, 12:32 PM

I'm not sure that it's true to say there hasn't been any promotion of the Pre here in the UK. There has been a decent amount of TV spots and a lot of ads in the print media, online and at sporting events.

O2 sponsor the rugby and the Pre was extensively advertised at the Eng. v. Aus match on Saturday.

The O2 store in Basingstoke told me that sales were good. They weren't selling as many Pres as they were iPhones but the "gap was closing"

Anyone expecting that the Pre would sell as well as the iPhone were seriously misguided. That doesn't mean that the Pre is or will be a flop though.

CGK · 11/09/2009, 01:50 PM

That article was pure fantasy - the pre has no buzz in the UK.

diggedy · 11/09/2009, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CGK

That article was pure fantasy - the pre has no buzz in the UK.

If it hadnt been for stuff magazine I wouldnt have even known much about the pre, even then I only realised it was out when I was walking past the o2 store and saw a poster in the window.
All a shame really

Maybe o2 will start pushing the pre or even the pixi more now that its iphone contract is coming to an end