The launch was widely considered a soft launch with a limited number of devices in stock at Sprint Nextel Inc., Best Buy and other retailers. The smartphone, described by one industry observer as an "iPhone Jr.," was highly anticipated and at stores in the first few hours of sales. The device has a price tag of $200 after a $100 mail-in rebate, plus a two-year service agreement with exclusive carrier Sprint.

Based on widespread reports of lines amid limited supply at a fairly wide range of retailers, Kevin Burden, an analyst at ABI Research Inc., said he believed that Pre sales "are where they should be." He estimated the sales to be between 50,000 and 100,000 for the first weekend.

"Did they sell 80,000 or 100,000, who knows? But it's got to be somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000," Burden said.

Palm Inc. and Sprint have not commented on sales volumes.

A surprise to many analysts and Palm fans was that the Pre with the iTunes music player from Apple Inc. Some called the move a hack by Palm of a competitor's software when the feature was announced last week.