Palm Pre Shortage Expected

The Palm Pre hasn’t been released yet, but news of its short supply has already circulated around. Sprint and Palm confirmed the official launch date of the Pre on June 6. However, news of shortages and insufficient supply is already dampening the hype of the upcoming event.

In an interview with Reuters where Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse notes the company doesn’t plan to heavily advertise the Pre. He explains that the company is going to have shortages for a while as they won’t be able to keep up with demand for the device in the early period of time.

This could mean two things. One, Palm Pre is going to be a successful product and would know doubt infuse some life into Palm’s ageing handset line. Demands are high that the company is going to have a hard time accomodating all requests. That is a good sign. But the second could be that Palm does not want to delay the announced launch date – something that Palm has notoriously slipped from before – and is going to push through with the release even though its current inventory won’t meet the demands. This is a bad thing and Palm should try to think things carefully if this is indeed the case.

Hesse’s comment is odd, because the early launch period is exactly when a company should be ramping up marketing and stirring interest in its hot new product. Also, by admitting to shortages now, two weeks before launch, Palm and Sprint have given AT&T a carte blanche to start promoting the third-generation iPhone to mainstream buyers who want a sharp smartphone. Apple is expected to announce a third-gen iPhone at Apple‘s Worldwide Developers’ Conference the same week as the Pre launch.

But a third point could be what Palm is going after – Pre hype. With the news of the Pre’s shortage, consumers could and possibly would, flock into Palm’s retail outlets and order a Pre before stocks ran out. This is the hype that any manufacturers would want for their hot new product.