[Pre] EOL List Reveals Target Launch (Sort of)

[utbaseball30]

http://www.boygeniusreport.com/2009/02/04/sprint-eol-list-reveals-target-palm-pre-launch-plenty-more/


Sprint customers, have you found yourself wondering what Hesse & Co. have in store for you this year beyond the illustrious Palm Pre? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. While we can’t post the list itself, one of our ninjas came through with a tasty internal document that may shed some light on things for you. It doesn’t cover all of the handsets Sprint has in store for 2009 but it does shed some light on a few handsets we’re all eagerly awaiting. Note that this is an End of Life (EOL) list so the replacement devices may add an element of confusion. Some of the handsets listed below are already released, such as the Motorola i365 and the Samsung M220, yet they are listed next to dates in the future. This simply means that these handsets will fill any gaps left by the corresponding EOL device. As for the handsets on the list that are not yet released, the EOL dates represent the target death of the EOL handset (in the warehouse, existing store inventory will still be sold) and the target in stock-date at Sprint’s warehouses for its replacement. In other words, these replacement devices are projected to be in stock by the dates specified so a release on or around said date is most definitely a safe bet. A duo of tasty examples: The document confirms the Treo Pro launch date of February 15 and sets the Palm Pre launch on or around May 15. So without further ado, hit the jump and soak up all that Sprint handset goodness we’ve extracted from the EOL document for you.

Device Name - Projected Warehouse EOL - Replacement (if available)

* Sierra Compass 597 USB - Early February - Sierra 598 USB
* Motorola ic602 - Early February
* LG 160 - Mid-February - Samsung M220
* LG Rumor (blue) - Mid February - LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
* Motorola i325IS - Mid February - Motorola i365IS
* LG Rumor (green) - Mid March - LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
* Franklin Wireless U680 USB - Early April
* Palm 800W - April - Palm Treo Pro (target in-stock 2/15)
* LG Rumor (black) - Mid April - LG 265 Rumor II (target in-stock 2/15)
* Motorola i615 - Mid April
* Samsung M520 Lumina - Mid April - LG LX370 (slider)
* RIM BlackBerry Pearl (red) - May
* LG LX400 - Late May
* Palm 755P (blue) - Late May - Palm Pre (target in-stock 3/15)
* Sanyo 6750 Eclipse (pink) - June
* Palm Centro (berry) - June
* Motorola Q9C - Mid June
* Sierra 597E - July - Sierra 2-in-1 Aircard
* Palm Centro (green) - July
* Palm Centro refresh (black) - July
* Motorola VE20 - July
* HTC Touch Diamond - July
* RIM BlackBerry 7100i - August - RIM BlackBerry 8350i

[ajac]

2/15 3/15 5/15 lol man I wish tehy would make up thier minds. My girl wants it bad though i want my Touch Pro HD asap!

[yabo]

It is kind-of ironic that the date seems to drop back just long enough to keep us strung along, eh?

[ajac]

I honestly think sprint is telling their reps to make up dates just to get people all excited.

[parazitu22]

They just updated their article saying they wouldn't hold their breath for that launch date, but it still might happen. I really hope it will launch then, I can wait a month and a half :-)))

[ScrapMaker]

Leaked articles are great for Sprint... they can deny it if something happens and they can't make their "target" in-stock date.

[Next Steps]

I honestly think sprint is telling their reps to make up dates just to get people all excited.

Yeah...umm, no. Sprint doesnt even want us to mention phones that aren't released yet. If we can't sell it TODAY, it doesnt exist. We only talk about the Palm Pre if someone specifically asks us about it. And we don't have ANY concrete info on when its being released. Sometime in June is the best estimate we can give, and thats not set in stone yet, esp with this stupid Apple patent being a possible roadblock.

[ajac]

Yeah...umm, no. Sprint doesnt even want us to mention phones that aren't released yet. If we can't sell it TODAY, it doesnt exist. We only talk about the Palm Pre if someone specifically asks us about it. And we don't have ANY concrete info on when its being released. Sometime in June is the best estimate we can give, and thats not set in stone yet, esp with this stupid Apple patent being a possible roadblock.

you must be one of the few reps that dont then cause ecare and tele sales both telling me 2/15 and 3/15 lol I just think its funny. I think sprint is really trying to build up excitement. its got my woman all excited lol I keep telling her 2/15 probably wont happen. Yet even today on tele sales incuring about my future with sprint they told me 2/15. Ah well i am waiting on the touch hd pro this November for me I just hope palm makes enough palm pre's so no one is left in the cold

[Next Steps]

you must be one of the few reps that dont then cause ecare and tele sales both telling me 2/15 and 3/15 lol I just think its funny. I think sprint is really trying to build up excitement. its got my woman all excited lol I keep telling her 2/15 probably wont happen. Yet even today on tele sales incuring about my future with sprint they told me 2/15. Ah well i am waiting on the touch hd pro this November for me I just hope palm makes enough palm pre's so no one is left in the cold


Ok, well, ecare and telesales are both telling you completely BS info. I can confirm to you that Sprint has not released a launch date for the Pre. I bet those reps who are saying 2/15 have the Palm Treo Pro and the Palm Pre mixed up. It happens. I think some reps rather lie or make up dates instead of flat out saying "I dont know".

I mean, lets think about this.
Has the Pre been passed by the FCC yet? NO.
Has Sprint retail stores loaded the Pre into their inventory and sales systems? NO.
Have they selected Advocates for the phone like they do with all the other new released phones? NO.
Also, didn't Sprint/Palm say that the phone was going to be released late 2nd quarter of 2009? YES.

The phone isn't even fully developed yet. Its months away! I don't care if ecare or telesales or your close friend who knows a guy who knows a guy at Palm tells you otherwise. Its not coming out this month or next month. I'd bet my life savings on that.

[ajac]

Ok, well, ecare and telesales are both telling you completely BS info. I can confirm to you that Sprint has not released a launch date for the Pre. I bet those reps who are saying 2/15 have the Palm Treo Pro and the Palm Pre mixed up. It happens. I think some reps rather lie or make up dates instead of flat out saying "I dont know".

I mean, lets think about this.
Has the Pre been passed by the FCC yet? NO.
Has Sprint retail stores loaded the Pre into their inventory and sales systems? NO.
Have they selected Advocates for the phone like they do with all the other new released phones? NO.
Also, didn't Sprint/Palm say that the phone was going to be released late 2nd quarter of 2009? YES.

The phone isn't even fully developed yet. Its months away! I don't care if ecare or telesales or your close friend who knows a guy who knows a guy at Palm tells you otherwise. Its not coming out this month or next month. I'd bet my life savings on that.

yet you say sprint reps are not giving false lol sounds like their giving plenty to me as well as to plenty of other people. I do have this to say if you do work for sprint maybe you need to bring up in the next meeting not to tell customers release dates unless their A concrete and B everyone is on the same page cause it sounds like to me everyone is on their own page.

[ScrapMaker]

corrections

Ok, well, ecare and telesales are both telling you completely BS info. I can confirm to you that Sprint has not released a launch date for the Pre. I bet those reps who are saying 2/15 have the Palm Treo Pro and the Palm Pre mixed up. It happens. I think some reps rather lie or make up dates instead of flat out saying "I dont know".

I mean, lets think about this.
Has the Pre been passed by the FCC yet? NO. (Possible, since Apple requested confidentialy on the iPhone.)
Has Sprint retail stores loaded the Pre into their inventory and sales systems? NO.
Have they selected Advocates for the phone like they do with all the other new released phones? NO.
Also, didn't Sprint/Palm say that the phone was going to be released late 2nd quarter of 2009? YES. (No, they said "first half of 2009.")

The phone isn't even fully developed yet. Its months away! I don't care if ecare or telesales or your close friend who knows a guy who knows a guy at Palm tells you otherwise. Its not coming out this month or next month. I'd bet my life savings on that. (Pretty sure you are right. April is more realistic.)

[ajac]

corrections

wow my guess on the phone coming out was like june lol I hope its between april - june febuary is way to early and I rather see a working phone not one I will have to file a claim on or replace because they got cheap on the parts

[Next Steps]

yet you say sprint reps are not giving false lol sounds like their giving plenty to me as well as to plenty of other people. I do have this to say if you do work for sprint maybe you need to bring up in the next meeting not to tell customers release dates unless their A concrete and B everyone is on the same page cause it sounds like to me everyone is on their own page.

At my store, WE DON'T bring up false dates. I can't control what ecare and telesales says though. But, this isn't the first time stuff like this happens. Some reps just say what they want, esp if it will make you happy and make you get off the call/chat. When the release date is finalized, I know it will be plastered all over the place, so don't let a few bad apples give you false hope.

[Next Steps]

corrections

Ok, my bad, first half of 2009. But I bet you they make at the end of the first half of 2009. There is no way this thing is ready yet. I mean, at CES, the demo device wasn't even ready enough to show off the web features.

And as for the FCC stuff, since the phone has already been shown to the public at CES, I doubt they will be all hush hush with the FCC documents when it gets tested. The iPhone was different. That thing was like Top Secret before it was announced.

[ajac]

well how about an email to your executive servies to keep ecare tele sales best buy and other ones sending out all this "information" to just keep it shut till something definite is said. I wonder if ATT and tmobile or verizon has these issues lol sigh I got till june to decide to stay or leave lol

[Next Steps]

well how about an email to your executive servies to keep ecare tele sales best buy and other ones sending out all this "information" to just keep it shut till something definite is said. I wonder if ATT and tmobile or verizon has these issues lol sigh I got till june to decide to stay or leave lol

I could do that, but I won't. It wouldn't fix the problem. People like that will ALWAYS be out there. There is no way to stop it. Since they are giving you the bad info, maybe you could send those emails out. Even if its to people like dan@sprint.com, if it makes you feel better, then go for it.

For the most part, corp employees are just a better source of info. We aren't outsourced. Thats not to say there aren't bad employees out there, because they are, but in general, we are better trained for stuff like this.

[cwfluke]

People like that will ALWAYS be out there.

Same people that claim that the phone hasn't been FCC approved (even though you have no idea and it could be completely confidential) and that the phone is set to release in the 2nd quarter of 2009 (even though nobody has EVER said that). Just because you are passing along information that you think it will be a later release date - its still false information and you have no idea. You're simply comparing early release but wrong information to late release and wrong information. :indiff: Its all still complete speculation.

[ajac]

the only real info we know is didnt sprint say first quarter of 2009? Beyond that who knows. Know what would be funny though? if apple announced the Iphone 4g cdma sprint only lol i wonder how many people would flock to sprint over that.. but our luck we'd get the Mphone lol Microsoft iphone rip off lol

[Next Steps]

Same people that claim that the phone hasn't been FCC approved (even though you have no idea and it could be completely confidential) and that the phone is set to release in the 2nd quarter of 2009 (even though nobody has EVER said that). Just because you are passing along information that you think it will be a later release date - its still false information and you have no idea. You're simply comparing early release but wrong information to late release and wrong information. :indiff: Its all still complete speculation.

You're right in some respects. At CES, Plam said first half of 2009. Now, I take that to mean late first half. Could I be wrong? Sure, but I highly doubt it. What I did say is that NO ONE knows the exact release date. Which means when you get these idiot reps saying 2/15 and stuff, I KNOW that is not correct. That's not speculation. Its a fact. And Sprint has no been secretive about past FCC documents, so I dont see why they'd start now. Like I mentioned previously, the Palm has already been shown to people at CES. There is no reason to make the FCC filings confidential.

If I had to bet money on the release, I'd say June. When it does comes out, there will be internal documents weeks ahead of time that will let us know. There are just certain things that fall into place that lets employees know when the phone is coming out. They will be sending demo phones to selected advocates in retail stores at least 2-3 weeks ahead of time before the release. There is inventory systems that get updated with SKU's and cost prices and stuff that is usually a few weeks to a month ahead of the release date. I'll know when our warehouse has it before any store get its.

I am not saying I am Mr all knowning about Sprint. But, I know bad info when I hear it. So, when I hear people saying it might be out in a couple weeks or something, there is something inside of me that has to correct that bad info.

[patchs]

Thanks for the info and help.
We all want the Pre out ASAP but there is a procedure that has to be followed.

[tbot]

Lol, the iphone FCC documents were held confidential until after it was launched, even tho it was announced 5 months prior!!! Palm very well could be doing the same thing. It makes even more sense that they would considering that webOS has been under development for 2 years and nothing was leaked in that time. No one knows one way or the other whether or not the pre has FCC approval except for the big wigs at palm and the FCC and anyone saying other wise is completely wrong!

[Next Steps]

If there is no proof stating either way, no one is technically wrong. Sprint doesn't normall hide FCC approvals, so I dont see them starting now. I am sure there is a possibility it could already be approved, but I highly doubt it.

We wont know for sure until its released, but all I am saying is not to expect it to be out in febuary or marach. Like I keep saying, my money is on a June release.

[cwfluke]

If there is no proof stating either way, no one is technically wrong. Sprint doesn't normall hide FCC approvals, so I dont see them starting now. I am sure there is a possibility it could already be approved, but I highly doubt it.

We wont know for sure until its released, but all I am saying is not to expect it to be out in febuary or marach. Like I keep saying, my money is on a June release.

What about the internal document that was released saying that Sprint was estimating the Pre be in stock 3/15. I'm not sure how accurate those EOL documents with their replacements are. But that seems to be the first thing I've seen yet that I consider "credible" - simply because its a document with the 3/15 date on it. Again - not sure how credible that even is.