As it announced its Q3 FY09 results (rather dismal with a 42 percent plunge in Palm smartphone shipments and a loss of US$98 million) yesterday, Palm reaffirmed that the Palm Pre remained on track for a release sometime in the first half of 2009. On an analyst call, Palm CEO Ed Colligan indicated that there are no showstoppers and that he is already using a Pre as his personal device. He did admit that the Pre still needs “more polishing.” No specific dates were provided.
Palm also announced that it plans on offering free webOS updates to its customers. This will let Palm recognize Palm webOS product revenues and costs on a subscription basis over a 24-month period.
Palm also revealed that it plans to use webOS on future products. Some could be simpler than the Pre while others will be more advanced, allowing Palm to target different customer needs. Beyond that, there is little information at this point.