o2 shop sells just 5 Pre's on launch day.....

[kamakazikev24]

And 3 of them were returned the next day. Please bring out better hardware Palm!

[leowyatt]

which shop in particular?

[C0deM0nkey]

Of course returns don't automatically mean the hardware was faulty. The Pre isn't for everyone.
It's also worth remembering that O2 deliberately did a low-key launch after getting their fingers burnt with the iPhone launch debacle.

I'm probably tempting fate now, but I've had no issues with my Pre or the 2 touchstones I bought on launch day.

[Shadow-360]

My Pre has solid build quality, apart from the damn flimsy usb cover the build is one of the best ive seen in a phone (though dont want to speak to soon). Touchstone i had a bit of a problem with at first, but its fine now and i couldnt be any happier.

I was the first one to get a Palm pre in blackburn - Launch day, was waiting 15 mins before the store opened, no one else was waiting, no buzz at all, no one bought/looked at Pres during my hour and a half stay there, and looking back the iPhone launch was quite the opposite.

More Buzz, Hype, Good word of mouth, A solid ad campaign (Current ads are pure crap imho, they need to be more to the point like iPhones - Showing off aspects of UI etc), WebOS updates (GPU access/api's for developers for awesome apps) is what's needed if the Pre's to be a success.

[ldj]

Yep, complete lack of marketing before the launch. What more did they expect? Even now O2s push of the Pre is half hearted.......I wonder if this will change next week when their iPhone exclusivity ends?

[peabrain]

yeah i still haven't seen a single advert myself anywhere for the pre!

the only advertising is on the 02 site :S

[Shadow-360]

Originally Posted by peabrain

yeah i still haven't seen a single advert myself anywhere for the pre!

the only advertising is on the 02 site :S

I saw the shorter 2nd ad on channel 5. Though apparantly the longer 50 sec one is on channel 3, during x-factor/champions league, my brothers seen it 5 times and ive seen it once =/.They really need to get their ad campaign into gear because i really doubt theyre getting to their target audience which is inbetween the iphone-blackbery users.

Ads are decent, though they really dont get to the point, need more iPhone like ads, heres how you do this, how simple it is, how slick the UI is etc, the fact that its arguably the best UI in a smartphone on the market and no one gives a rats *** because they simply dont know about it!

Heres hoping the palm pre is a success . My phone is a pre

[Upke]

Compared to my Treo 750 the build quality of this device is definatly a step backwards. The Pre feels so much more 'plasticy', the slider mechanism is flimsy and the USB door is a nightmare.

To bad the OS is so darn good.

[CGK]

The shops really don't help - I was in an 02 store in liverpool on Saturday, they had three devices. One appeared to be broken and wouldn't power on, the other was stuck on a profile screen and the third has quite a few dead pixels.

[diggedy]

The few o2 stores I went into before buying actually tried to point me in the direction of the iphone display, there really is no push on the pre. In fact, my local store remembered me from a 2 minute visit 2 weeks prior where I just picked up a leaflet and pressed the screen a few times so im guessing there has been very little interest in the pre!

[mike_freegan]

My mate who works at the O2 store sold me mine. I got it on the Saturday, so the day after launch. No-one bought one on the first day, and I was the 2nd buyer on the 2nd day. My first pre had a dead pixel, but battery and loose slider so it went back.

[Khalild]

yeah I don't know what's wrong with o2 I picked mine up on the day after launch and there was one other guy there looking to pick up a pre as well. The sales guy kept trying to push the iphone on him.

[kamakazikev24]

Originally Posted by leowyatt

which shop in particular?

Norwich, I was in there about 30 mins chating to the guy who was showing me there stock screen, HTC HD2 is listed as 16th November btw LOL

Just no one at all looking at the Pre, and the bloke just saying he is getting the 3GS when his contract is up.

Must admit though, while playing with Pre I found the hardware to be total rubbish.

I like the idea of the OS but the phone just does not match it.

[Trice]

I've visited three stores in west London to look at the pre.
First store had the pre display but no phones.
The second had two phones, both with no life/ broken.
The third had two phones on display both working which was a relief. I played with the phone for around 20 minutes and was not once approached by a staff member.

It seems that the o2 staff are not that interesting which does not bod well for people who's first knowledge of the phone is from the store visit.

I'm still going to be getting the phone in a few weeks!

[BlueC]

Originally Posted by CGK

The shops really don't help - I was in an 02 store in liverpool on Saturday, they had three devices. One appeared to be broken and wouldn't power on, the other was stuck on a profile screen and the third has quite a few dead pixels.

was that the one by central station or in liverpool one?

i bought mine from central station on launch day - got there at 8am and was still the only one there at 9am when the shop opened hahaa silly me expecting a stampede! next week the palm rep was in while i was replacing my phone and he asked them how many they'd sold... they looked embarrassed and said "errrm three". i actually think that was an over-estimate as they told me they had a stock of 24 originally and they still had 23 left!!

the display in that shop is shockingly bad. and the uk tv advert is a TOTAL waste of money, i've seen it in some prime slots but it's got to be the most insipid advert ever. they should have copied the iphone adverts - nice big close ups of the UI and a few apps.

[happymore]

PALM PRE is a great phone,but palm is a bad company.They should make more interesting advertisement on TV and internet.I just can see a few advertisement on TV,but a lot of iphone advertisement.

[CGK]

Originally Posted by BlueC

was that the one by central station or in liverpool one?

i bought mine from central station on launch day - got there at 8am and was still the only one there at 9am when the shop opened hahaa silly me expecting a stampede! next week the palm rep was in while i was replacing my phone and he asked them how many they'd sold... they looked embarrassed and said "errrm three". i actually think that was an over-estimate as they told me they had a stock of 24 originally and they still had 23 left!!

the display in that shop is shockingly bad. and the uk tv advert is a TOTAL waste of money, i've seen it in some prime slots but it's got to be the most insipid advert ever. they should have copied the iphone adverts - nice big close ups of the UI and a few apps.

Liverpool one - it's funny you mention selling one, I saw a claim by a 02 rep on a private forum that on launch day, he estimated they has sold an average of 1 device per store - a claim I saw echoed in other places.

[ldj]

Am I the only one then that has no issues with the quality of the slider or the usb door?

[paulhelyerpre]

Originally Posted by ldj

Am I the only one then that has no issues with the quality of the slider or the usb door?

I don't have any real problems with the hardware. Could be a little sturdier but nowhere near bad enough to warrant a lot of the moaning I have seen.

I agree that O2 seem uninterested in promoting the Pre (or in fact anything except playing about with their own iPhones while half paying attention to customers).

IMO, Palm have made a mistake by giving O2 exclusivity when the entire staff of all O2 shops I have visited seem to be Apple *******. Why would they promote something that may equal the iPhone when they still have 19 months left on the contract of theirs?

My 2 pence worth...

[CGK]

Originally Posted by paulhelyerpre

I don't have any real problems with the hardware. Could be a little sturdier but nowhere near bad enough to warrant a lot of the moaning I have seen.

I agree that O2 seem uninterested in promoting the Pre (or in fact anything except playing about with their own iPhones while half paying attention to customers).

IMO, Palm have made a mistake by giving O2 exclusivity when the entire staff of all O2 shops I have visited seem to be Apple *******. Why would they promote something that may equal the iPhone when they still have 19 months left on the contract of theirs?

My 2 pence worth...

It's partly that but it's also placement within the store, the iphone table is generally front and centre with working devices while the broken pre table is stuffed in the corner. It's no surprise what catches the customer's eye.