Earlier there were reports that the Palm Pre would be launched by O2 in UK, now its official. Palm announced that the Palm Pre would be available primarily in the UK, Ireland and Germany on the O2 network. It would be offered in Spain on the Movistar network during the holidays.
The Palm Pre is the first phone developed on the new Palm webOS mobile platform and it offers an integrated view of all the information residing on the users’ phone, web or at work. The handset comes with a 3.1-inch touchscreen that offers 320 x 480 resolution. It offers 8GB internal memory and an integrated GPS. The handset features Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support. The dimensions of the phone are 59.57mm x 100.53mm x 16.95mm and it weighs around 135 grams.
The device incorporates MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g. Furthermore, it includes a 3-megapixel camera with LED flash and standard 3.5mm headset jack. It also features an accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos according to user’s perspective. It sports a desktop-class web browser and offers email, along with support for corporate servers with Microsoft Exchange and personal email support – POP3, IMAP.
“Europe continues to be an important region for Palm, and we’re proud to work with O2 and Movistar to spread the excitement Palm Pre has already ignited in North America. Since we showed Palm Pre at Mobile World Congress in February, there’s been a great deal of anticipation for an announcement about European availability, and that day is here,” quoted Jon Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief executive officer.
The handset offers an ergonomic design and a sliding keyboard. It is a handy device for phone calls, web browsing, music, photos and videos, while it is open. When it is closed it can be used for email and text messaging. The handset offers a gesture-controlled touch interface that enables users to access the content on the device or web rapidly.
Additionally, the Palm Synergy feature of the Palm Pre combines information and presents it as a single logical view. This feature tracks the users’ contacts listed in their Outlook, Google and Facebook accounts and displays it as one listing. The calendars can be displayed as a single view or layered together so as to integrate work, family, friends, sports teams, or other interests. Synergy facilitates users to view their conversations with a particular person in a chat-style view. They can reply messages on the IM even via text messaging.
The innovative WebOS permits users to handle multiple activities simultaneously. The universal search allows users to find information from the web as well as from their device. It also presents important notifications on a bar at the bottom of the screen so that users do not miss out on any of their text messages or emails.The handset broke Sprint’s first weekend sales records when launched in the US, the cellular phone also offers an advanced user interface that makes it extremely user friendly and unique.
The Palm Pre is also planned to be introduced in Canada by Bell Mobility in the second half of 2009. The pricing for the phone is not yet revealed.