Dismal financial results have not slowed down the always-optimistic Palm CEO, Ed Colligan
According to Palm CEO, Ed Colligan, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-company has enough money to launch the Pre smartphone, in the coming 15 weeks.
“I think we have adequate capital. You know, this latest raise really, I think, put us in a position to be able to launch the Pre very successfully,” said Colligan.
But Palm’s financials are just dismal. $98 million loss for $90 million in revenue for the last quarter. The more the company earns, the more it goes into the red.
Expect a disastrous quarter in advance to the Pre launch
And the Pre launch will just make things worse, as manufacturing, marketing and advertising expenses ramp up; a month in advance from the actual launch, confirmed Colligan.
So for Palm, the launch of its new smartphone is just the beginning of a long journey that will inevitably require more money as the hardware company expands internationally and broadens the family WebOS devices.
Colligan already suggested a cheaper, simpler Pre, probably positioned like the entry-level Centro, which represents about 70 to 75 per cent of Palm sales today.
“The Palm Pre is our first shot at a great integrated product, kind of the all-in-one, do-everything, incredible product. But there are certainly opportunities for going downstream and taking functionality out or building better cost hardware around it.”
Stay tuned then.
