Verizon Wireless has jettisoned its $100 mail-in rebate requirements for its Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus smartphones, possibly smoothing the way for shoppers to snap up the gadgets.
The Pre Plus is now available for $149.99 and the Pixi Plus is going for $79.99. The devices in January were introduced at $149.99 and $99.99, respectively, after a $100 mail-in rebate.
A Verizon representative did not immediately respond to questions about the action. However, the carrier told Wireless Week that there was "a brief period where we tested mail-in rebates on some phones. We have found that online customers expect instant rebates and since this is a very competitive arena in which to do business, we responded accordingly."
Verizon made the price change shortly after Palm issued a warning about its expected revenues, and after Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein said in a memo to employees that Verizon's launch of the company's products was "below expectations." In the memo, which came to light late last month, Rubinstein said he and Dave Whalen, Palm's senior vice president for global sales, recently had a "very successful meeting with Verizon Wireless, where they acknowledged that their execution of our launch was below expectations and recommitted to working with us to improve sales."
Palm said it expects its full-year revenue to be "well below" its previous estimate of between $1.6 billion and $1.8 billion.
For more:
- see this Wireless Week article
- see this IntoMobile post
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