This one took me a while to realize, but maybe the small supply of Pre phones available at launch is a GOOD thing for Palm and Sprint. Earlier in the year, I took a look at why the Ready Now program from Sprint was ESSENTIAL in the success of the Pre, and with the leak of the business slide that proves Sprint is concerned about getting the Pre into the right hands, I’m starting to wonder if the low supply of Pre phones will actually benefit Sprint and Palm.

Look at it like this: Sprint needs to control the launch of the Pre with a fervor only seen in the likes of Steve Jobs. They need to make sure every employee is up to speed on all of the Pre information so that every customer can walk out of the Sprint store happy with their purchase. Making the Pre available to consumers through Best Buy and RadioShack will help in sales numbers and availability, but it won’t help if the employees at those stores are just looking to sell the Pre because the customer wants it. One of the hardest things to learn in retail is tell the customer that what they want isn’t what they need, and I am willing to bet that the majority of RadioShack and Best Buy employees could care less. That’s why Sprint is giving them as few as several thousand devices to sell across the nation.

Sprint is reserving the majority of the stock of Pre phones for themselves, obviously. Yet the actual number (estimated around 40,000 or so) is abysmally small, and will almost certainly sell out. This is good for two reasons: one, it gives the appearance of success to the world. “The Palm Pre sold OUT” is a good headline. More importantly, it REQUIRES that Sprint actually make the effort to ensure that ONLY the right kinds of customers are getting the Palm Pre; that is, those that will use the device and be satisfied with it because it meets their needs. If a customer requires a function the Pre can’t deliver, and is unhappy with the device, the negative press will only hurt Palm and Sprint. Instead, a shortage of phones gives the illusion that device is selling well, whereas if people who aren’t right for the Pre start complaining, it’s going to give negative press to two companies that don’t need it.

Yes, the shortage might be infuriating, and it might prevent some people from getting a device on launch day, but I’d rather that Sprint is 100% sure that every sale is the right one than for a customer to get a phone that isn’t a good fit.