Despite low levels of inventory on hand, Sprint says the Pre delivered a record sales debut. By late Sunday, the Palm Pre had broken all previous sales records for a Sprint device, although the carrier didn’t provide any specific numbers.
In a press release, President and CEO Dan Hesse reiterated that the Pre is the "coming out party" for a new and improved Sprint. Among the changes: the Ready Now retail store experience, improved customer care, value pricing plans and its "most dependable" 3G network.
On Saturday, Sprint found one man, Theodore Travis, in line at an Atlanta-area Sprint store at 7 a.m.– on his wedding day. His wedding was scheduled for 8 a.m., so, not wanting to miss it, he abandoned his wait at 7:45 a.m. and left his line number and credit card info with a store employee, asking that he "hold the 14 phone for me."
The newlyweds later returned to pick up the phone, although the bride eventually revealed that her initial reaction was "You did what?"
Sprint sold out in many locations but says it is getting the device to its retail locations "as fast as Palm can make them."
Sprint also reiterated that its Simply Everything plan saves customers $1,200 over a comparable plan for AT&T’s iPhone and more against Verizon Wireless’ smartphone and PDA pricing over two years.