KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Dozens got a sneak peak at Sprint-Nextel’s new Palm Pre Smartphone Friday. Chief Executive, Dan Hesse, called it an important product.
“Sprint is the most important employer in Kansas City and this is our most important product that we’ve had in sometime,” Hesse said.
The Pre features touch screen multi-tasking, web browsing, live television and allure.
“I’m in love the Pre,” said John-Michael Angotti, a Sprint customer. “I guess I’ve been following it for a while.”
Dozens anxious to buy a Palm Pre lined up outside the Sprint Studio in the Power and Light district Friday night. They won invitations to a special launch party. Tom Hoppins was there. He is among Sprint’s best customers.
“I use anywhere from 3000 to 6000 minutes a month,” Hoppins said.
For him, the Pre allows him to conduct business efficiently.
“I use it to talk to other employees, dispatch them on other jobs, and talk to my wife,” Hoppins said.
“We think it will likely be a home run, but it doesn’t need to be a home run,” Hesse said.
Despite 12% first-quarter revenue losses and difficulty attracting new customers, Hesse does not think the Pre is a make or break venture. However, he expects it to rival Apple’s popular I-Phone.
“Apples to apples, pardon the pun, you’ll save $1,200 with Sprint over AT&T over a two-year contract period,” Hesse said.
The Pre has Cecilia Troiani, a T-Mobile customer, curious about changing providers.
“It depends on what I get for value and what the cost would be,” Troiani said.
The Pre could be cheaper with another carrier. Palm plans to work with Verizon Wireless on another version in the future. For now, Palm has an exclusive agreement with Sprint. Hesse will not say how long the agreement is in effect. However, he said it is important Sprint sees quick success.
“We hope it will be good for Sprint,” Hesse said. “What’s good for Sprint is good for Kansas City.”
