Palm's webOS follow-up device to the Centro, the Eos (Pixie), a thinline smartphone with 4GB internal storage and a 320x400 2.6" capacitive touchscreen, was previously rumored to be available in the second half of 2009 on AT&T. Analysts Tavis McCourt and Justin Patterson of Morgan Keegan & Company have since narrowed down the date, predicting initial shipments of the device to happen sometime between November and Christmas. From a recent research note:
“We believe initial Pixie shipments will begin in the November quarter, although timing is still uncertain (we believe the goal would likely be a holiday launch)."
In addition, the new rumored $99 price point (with 2-year agreement), should drive "substantial volumes", with broader distribution over AT&T and Sprint than the Centro, which peaked at about 1 million units shipped/quarter. "We have the Pixie ramping quickly to these levels in calendar 2010 as distribution ramps.", they note.
As for long-term forecasts for Palm, McCourt and Patterson predict Pre shipments to reach 2.2M by May 2010 (currently headed for 550k units this quarter) and Pixie shipments to reach about 1.2M. If the trends continue, Palm would have obtained a 10 percent share of its North American market by 2011.
Sunday, 05 July 2009