Palm Pre Demand 'Strong and Growing' Says CEO
June 25 2009 - 4:24PM
Dow Jones News
Palm Inc. (PALM) Chief Executive Jon Rubinstein said Palm's Pre
smartphone sales have been "strong and growing," but didn't get any
more specific about actual sales.
"I couldn't be happier with our launch," Rubinstein said on a
conference call to discuss the company's fourth quarter, it's last
full quarter before releasing the phone. For the quarter, Palm's
loss widened as revenue plunged, but results topped analysts'
estimates. Shares were up 9% to $15.30 in after-hours trades.
He added the company is confident it can continue to have enough
phones on hand to meet demand.
Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Palm is hoping the Palm Pre can
resurrect its moribund smartphone franchise amid stiff competition
from Apple Inc. (AAPL), which began selling a new iPhone June 19.
First weekend sales of the iPhone 3GS exceeded expectations.
So far, all signs point to a stronger-than-expected launch for
Palm's Pre, speculation of which boosted the company's shares to a
52-week high last week and fueled rumors the company is a prime
takeover target.
Since the Pre went on sale June 6, Palm has not provided a sales
figure. It has said that first day and weekend Pre sales were the
highest of any device in its history. The device faces stiff
competition. Apple's iPhone 3GS first weekend of sales exceeded
expectations.
As has been its custom, Palm didn't provide a quarterly
forecast.
The Pre was designed to revive Palm's slowing smartphone
business, which has suffered market-share loss to the popular
iPhone and BlackBerry family of devices. The Pre offers both a
touch-screen and a slide-out keyboard, and is the first device to
use Palm's newly built webOS platform.
-By Ben Charny, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-765-8230;
ben.charny@dowjones.com.