Barron's spoke with a Sprint representative who confirmed that the Palm devices were leaving RadioShack in order to "keep the line up of devices as current as possible." Right now, the plan is for a BlackBerry device to replace the Palm Pre and for a more message-centric phone to replace the Palm Pixi.
Initially launched with lots of good buzz and warm reviews last June, Palm's platform, webOS, has really failed to take off with developers or users. Instead, Google's Android has gained steam as the open source option for phone developers, and platforms like RIM's BlackBerry and Apple's iPhone have continued to flourish.
With the release of the PDK last month, Palm tried to bring developers back into the fold with the lure of 3D graphics, but for many it's too little too late.
Everyone I know who has a Pre (and admittedly, this is like two people) really like the device and functionality. Unfortunately, having a good product isn't enough anymore, especially in the ultra-competitive mobile space.
The fact that one of Sprint's biggest retail partners is phasing out Palm devices is not a good sign for a company that needs a buyer.