Debunk: Palm not halting Pre / Pixi production, just on hold for Chinese New Year
Oh boy. Research firm OTR Global is making some waves today with a report claiming that Palm ordered all Pre and Pixi manufacturing to be halted, but apparently they didn't look at a calendar -- or, you know, call Palm. We just talked to Palm and here's the real deal: Pre and Pixi orders were halted for the Chinese New Year on the 14th, and production will go back online at the end of the month. That's the whole story -- Palm also told us that production for Verizon was ramped up early in the year to cover the downtime, so there shouldn't be any effect on availability. We'll be getting an official statement soon, we'll update as soon as we get it.
Update: Here's the official word from Derick Mains, Palm's director of corporate communications:
Palm regularly adjusts its product manufacturing levels to manage inventory. In anticipation of the Verizon Wireless launch and Chinese New Year, we increased production levels prior to February, and anticipate ramping production back up after the Chinese New Year ends.
Move along, nothing else to see here.
