And it gets more interesting:
Sprint Offers $100 Service Credit to New Pre Switchers
Well now, things are getting interesting. While Sprint-affiliate IPCS is offering the Palm Pre for $150 after rebate, Sprint itself will be offering a $100 credit to all new customers who sign up and buy the Pre before October 31st Octbober 10th, according to Reuters.
Sprint said on its website that the offer, which does not apply to existing customers, would be available for new Sprint customers who sign up before Oct. 31 [update: the actual date is Oct 10] and commit to a 2-year service contract. The service credit would be added to customer invoices over a 3-month period, the company said.
Although the initial purchase price will remain $299 with a $100 mail-in rebate, the extra $100 dollars over the first three months would could go a long way towards helping Sprint grab more customers. We just called Sprint to confirm (the announcement is also up on Sprint's site, thanks Anonymous Commenter!) and they're saying that the new promotion only applies to customers who port their number in from another carrier, so Sprint is clearly trying to grab some marketshare while they still have exclusivity on the Pre.
There has been rumblings recently that the Pre isn't living up to sales expectations, number-wise, time will tell if this promotion can help turn that around.
Thanks to jpquezada for the tip!
Update: Roger lets us know that the credit also applies to activations for phones purchased from "The Shack" (do we really have to call it that from now on?). Presumably it will apply to any new customer who ports a number, regardless of where they purchase it. Thanks, Roger!
http://www.precentral.net/sprint-off...-pre-switchers