I just wanted to say I am sorry and clarify the situation as it was clarified for me yesterday.​.. Great experience with Palm Customer Support.

Question

I called Sprint yesterday and was treated terribly by tech support because I didn't want to switch devices.  They as much as called me outright stupid for wanting to stay with my Palm Pre.  Even though they agreed that all four phones were broken out of the box and that I was not at fault.  They refused to help on the basis that Palm Pre's were being recalled and no longer would be available at Sprint.  I was so upset that I called Palm immediately and found that to be untrue.  Thankfully.  Despite all the issues I had, I don't believe it was Palm's fault.  I believe the Authorized Retailers were selling refurbished phones as new.  Especially after finding out that my husbands' Samsung Moment had over 400 hours of talk time a week after he bought the phone.  So, after being lied to by Sprint, I called Palm and the Tech's were very helpful and very empathetic and are sending me a replacement phone.  They waived the fee since this is to be my 5th replacement and I was extremely surprised at how helpful they were. 
Further, this morning I got a phone call from an unknown number... which I almost didn't answer but I did and it turned out to be a Palm Corporate Customer Service Rep who had read some of my "rants" on here.   He apologized and we talked for a while about the problems I had with R**** $&*** and Sprint.  He then offered to replace the Touchstone I had purchased earlier this month and offered to call me after I receive the replacement and the TS kit to make sure there was no problems... which I believe he will.  SO, I am a person who is very happy with Palm. If I am wrong, I will say I am wrong... especially if my experiences could had given people pause about buying this phone.  I am sorry.  It is truly a great company, who does care about their customers and their opinions. 
So, if you do end up being one of the few people who have an issue.  Try Sprint once and if they don't fix the problem... call Palm and they will take care of you.  I got caught up in a cycle of reading other people examples (and who knows how much a situation is exaggerated) and expected to receive horrible service from Palm.  But I didn't and I am glad that I stuck with them.
If anyone reading had a similiar experience from Palm where they went above and beyond the call of duty to restore your faith in the company... please post if you have the time. Thanks again

Answer 1

I am sorry if I didn't explain clearly but Radioshack is the first place I bought my phone from... as an authorized retailer I assumed that if it was new, it wouldn't be broken... but after the first two, I got online and found another story where Radioshack got caught selling a refurb Palm Pre as new.  The guy bought it took it home and it had some defect (that I can't remember) and when he went to Pandora App, he found that the previous owner had signed in and it hadn't been cleared out.  So.... I don't know... but I agree with you because you still see the problem clearly.  Sprint acts as though they are supportive of Palm, but if you have the slightest issue, they throw Palm under the bus and won't back a far superior product.  I do agree that there are some issues with the Palm build, but I think that it has more to do with the owner than anything.  If you have the time and ability to take care with your Pre, then it will probably last longer than someone who just jams the charger in the port or anyone who doesn't baby the phone 97% of the time.  I am sure some people are going to say that you shouldn't have to take sure care with a phone and I agree, but unfortunately that is just the case for now. I have faith that the next webOS device is going to be of a spectacular and solid build quality.  And the rep that called me about the charger kit said some about a future device, I don't know if he was just talking in general or if there is actually a device in the makings but I hope so!
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pre/240804-still​-my-1st-pre-proud.html#post2368881
I know there was a post on precentral that talked about who was on their first Palm Pre's and the number was surprising high.  I just know that I am still waiting on my replacement from Pre and they could have very easily just grabbed a refurb and threw it in a box to be shipped.  But I was assured that a tech was going to inspect the device before it was sent to me and it was shipped two days after my order.  So, hopefully dealing with Palm rather than Sprint will be the deciding factor that allows me to finally have a great model of the Pre with no prior issues out of the box.  I just hope that there is a new Palm webOS device when I able to upgrade in a year or so.  Above is the link for the forums regarding owners who are still on number one, alot of them launch day Pre's.  Thanks for your response.  Can't wait till Monday