Port your number over to a new Palm Pre and receive $100 credit

In order to boost Palm Pre sales, there was a rumor speculating that Sprint would slash pricing by $50. A $150 Palm Pre looks pretty enticing especially when compared to the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. However, Sprint decided to do something a little different; new customers who port over an existing number to a Pre would receive $100 credit over a period of three months.

Basically, new customers would have to purchase a Pre between now and October 31, and this does not apply to existing customers, as Sprint really wants to attract new customers from competing carriers. While the credit isn’t an exact discount of the $199 price, it still serves the purpose of saving the customer $100 over a three month period of time. Some could look at this deal and say Sprint is trying to do something good for the public by indirectly lowering prices. Others are suggesting Sprint’s profit from the Palm Pre sales are decreasing and they need a new promotion to boost sales and gain new customers. In addition, the fact that the credit will be applied to the new users’ invoice over a three month period makes me wonder why they can’t offer the credit up front.

However you look at it, new customers will be able to save $100 after purchasing a Palm Pre, which essentially brings the price down to $99. While this confirmation isn’t totally in line with the rumor, it does confirm that a price cut was on the horizon.

Read [Reuters]