Official sales numbers aren't available from Palm, but analysts agree the number is between 150,000 to 300,000
The Palm Pre smartphone has been available for almost one month and is seeing strong initial sales. Although Palm and Sprint Nextel haven't announced how many Pre smartphones have been sold, Charter Equity Research analyst Edward Snyder predicts that the number is around 300,000.
Palm is said to be producing 15,000 Pre units each day and plans to ship more than 1 million total units throughout its first quarter since launch. Just 120,000 units were said to be available when the phone launched on June 6.
Other analysts said Palm has sold just 150,000 Pre units, but that number varies depending on the analyst. Furthermore, Palm said it shipped 351,000 smartphones during its Q4 2009, but that number likely includes the Centro and Treo Pro smartphones.
But not all Pre news is happy news as Palm is still struggling financially. The phone's early June launch wasn't soon enough to help Palm's earnings, with the company recently announcing a $105 million net loss for the quarter.
Similar to other high-profile phone launches, early adopters of the Pre are now complaining of several notable design flaws with the phone. The most glaring complaint is of fragile screens that easily crack in situations that the phone should be able to make it through.
It's unknown how many Pre owners are suffering from structural issues with their phones.
"My feeling at this point is that it's pretty clear there is something -- either a bad run or something wrong with the design," PreCentral.net editor Dieter Bohn told ABC News.
Palm also faces a problem in which the phones are largely being purchased by current Sprint subscribers -- Palm hoped Pre would help attract subscribers away from Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and T-Mobile.
However, Palm and Sprint will both continue to heavily market the phone, especially with Pre WCDMA version of the phone said to be released sometime before the end of the year. Analysts predict a WCDMA Pre will be able to drastically boost Pre sales numbers well ahead of current numbers, but interested consumers will have to wait until this fall.
An upcoming GSM version of the Pre should also help to boost sales for Palm.
"Well, we didn't have anyone in line that got shot waiting for our system." -- Nintendo of America Vice President Perrin Kaplan
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