I hate when I'm right. Sometimes.

Posted by: Michael Disabato

As I blogged before, the Sprint/Pre combination is not the iPhone killer that was predicted:

 June 17 (Bloomberg) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. and Palm Inc. shares fell after an analyst at Wachovia Securities Inc. signaled the new Pre touch-screen phone may not be luring customers away from rival carriers. A survey of retail sites showed that most buyers of the Pre are already Sprint subscribers, helping the carrier retain customers.


What does this mean? Little or no growth for Sprint. Faint hope of recovery for Palm. Their CEO departed on June 11 after "sixteen years of leadership". Some leadership. The cadre of developers has dispersed to more profitable platforms. Their mindshare has all but evaporated. Their last offering (Windows Mobile) was so stunning (not), no mobile operator would subsidize it.

Had the Pre been on a GSM network (T-Mobile?) it might have had a chance. Instead, it's on a CDMA network on frequencies used in the United States. And that network is the smallest of the "Big Four." Palm lacks a compelling story. Sprint has made some dubious technology choices. The result is evident.

What where they thinking indeed.

Michael