It is unequivocally obvious that the ATT & VZ spin masters will do anything to debase Sprint, because that is their only hope for growth.  If Sprint loses they gain, however if Sprint gains ATT & VZ lose.  In all fairness Sprint’s customer services and 3G reliability is second to none.

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Sprint would not be the 3rd or 4th choice.

T-Mobile:  no real 3G network, bad coverage over large sections of the country - no way T-Mobile is chosen
Verizon: best 3G network, expensive service plans, good reputation - looks like a good choice
AT&T: slower 3G network, expensive service plans, has the iPhone - not a great choice.  AT&T users who are interested in this type of phone will largely already have the iPhone, so your customers will have to come from those who switch from an iPhone or those who switch carriers….this sort of thing can take time to build.
Sprint: good 3G network, great service plans, probably most willing of all providers to subsidize and no directly competing handset.  Palm can immediately sign up those on Sprint who want this type of phone but did not want to switch carriers; this helps with a quicker uptake of the phone while those who would need to switch carriers come on more slowly.

Sprint has to be one of your top 2 choices.

Not to split hairs, but the exclusivity is through the end of the year.  That is an exclusivity period of 6 - 9 months. (6 months if the phone is release on the last day of June)

@ jayman, kmas, and Jason

So let's play pretend.  You are Palm who desperately needs a device to pull you out of your tailspin.  You think you have it in the Palm Pre.  If you are the CEO of Palm, what is your pecking order for the Carrier that can best ensure success?  Something tells me Sprint is 3rd or 4th.  That was the point I was making.

The curious thing is that it's only a 6 month exclusivity.  Considering, that most people are tied into contracts with other carriers, whom other than current Sprint subscribers or Palm Fanboys are just going to wait out the exclusivity?

Finally, a note Sprint - the price for mass market smartphones has been set at $199.  Given this and the economic climate, don't shoot yourself in the foot by charging a premium for the device.

Sprint had customer service problems.  They didn't have the best coverage, but all carriers have coverage problems, especially in whatever building you might work in.  For a lot of people Sprint provides the best coverage in their area.

In theory, they've fixed their customer service problems, their leaner and willing to provide the best deals for a high quality network.

Hopefully the Pre will re invigorate Sprint and tied it over until we see how WiMax plays out.

Or some more Android handsets come out.

I have used Sprint for the latter three years and never had any problems.  The only problems associated with Sprint appear to have occured during their merger with Nextel.  Well that is a bygone, so all this fuss about Sprint's customer service is much ado about nothing.  The reality is Sprint is one of the three major carriers and probably the best bang for your money.  The only thing missing at Sprint was a quality Smart Phone.  With their Pre excluclusivity they will be more than a match for ATT and Verizon.  What makes the Pre so interesting is how the geeks at Intel are salivating over this device.

It is unequivocally obvious that the ATT & VZ spin masters will do anything to debase Sprint, because that is their only hope for growth.  If Sprint loses they gain, however if Sprint gains ATT & VZ lose.  In all fairness Sprint's customer services and 3G reliability is second to none.  On another note Sprint is currently the only carrier to offer 4G in some areas of its coverage.  ATT and VZ to date have done nothing other than pucker their spin masters lips.  Kudos to Palm for its choice of Sprint.  This partnership will do more than wonders.

anyone have an idea when the phone will be out?? ive done so much research on it and am waiting to get this phone and am stuck with a really crappy one until it comes out so i hope it is soon!

Switch to Sprint from ATT or Verizon, ahhh yes, we just switched over 50 PDA and BB from ATT and we are paying about $60 less per phone, the 3g network blows away ATT, we can actually use our phones in and around our office where ATT was dead and the calls are much clearer. I am switching my wife over as she is with Verizon and paying $140 per month for an unlimited plan and with Sprint it is $99 and she get MORE features! We tested the Sprint phones for almost 3 weeks before making the switch and found the service to be much better than we had expected after reading all the message boards and media. We also had a great partner who came in delivered our phones, swapped our numbers and provides great care for us, with ATT we had 6 so called corp reps who never called back and could care less about our account. ATT can keep the Iphone and their so called 3 g over priced network that drops calls and data all the time. Keep it coming Sprint we cant wait to buy some PRE when they come out!

I might be one of those "crazy people" switchin to Sprint from VZW. I figure it will not show up on VZW until sometime in 2010.

Why did Palm pick Sprint?  Nice try Palm, but how about:
1. AT&T is already "all-in" with the iPhone
2. T-Mobile is going the Android path
3. Verizon is impossible to work with and was demanding too much in the deal.
4. Sprint was the last guy left in the room.

Serious Palm, the Pre looks like a great device, but you'd be crazy to switch to Sprint to get it.  I hope you got some "real" carriers lined up after the exclusivity ends.

Was Roger McNamee on the call :)