O2 wins exclusive Palm Pre deal in the UK

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The Guardian is reporting that O2 have won an exclusivity deal for the Palm Pre in the UK.

The Pre which is already on sale in the US is a rival to Apple's iPhone. Seen by many as a worthy competitor, some analysts believe Palm has shifted 300,000 devices in the US alone. O2 already has an exclusive deal with Apple for the iPhone and selling the Pre exclusively will further confirm its position as the UK's largest mobile phone network.

Palm first unveiled the Pre at a press conference during this years Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The device packs a punch and has received rave reviews around the world. The official specs are:

High-speed wireless (EV-DO Rev. A or HSDPA, depending on version)
802.11b / g WiFi
Integrated GPS
3.1-inch 24-bit color 480 x 320 display
Dedicated gesture area below display
Slide-out portrait QWERTY keyboard
Exchange email support in addition to POP and IMAP
IM, MMS, and SMS messaging
High-performance browser
3-megapixel camera with LED flash and "extended depth of field"
3.5mm headphone jack
Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with A2DP
8GB of internal storage
USB mass storage mode
MicroUSB connectivity with USB 2.0
Proximity sensor for detecting when phone is near face
Light sensor to automatically dim display
Ringer mute switch
Removable rechargeable battery
59.57 x 100.53 x 16.95mm closed
4.76 ounces

It's not clear when O2 plan to launch the Pre but many believe the device will be released before the holiday season in the UK.

#1 +tunafish on 01 Jul 2009 - 20:47

First the iphone now the Pre.........

Wonder what it will cost

#2 Randomiser on 01 Jul 2009 - 20:55

Not too much I hope.

(1 reply) #3 Max™ on 01 Jul 2009 - 20:59

Maybe they are ditching the iPhone for the Pre?

Either way, there's no O2 signal in my area so they won't be getting my business.

#3.1 MightyJordan on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:16

Maxï¿½ said,

Maybe they are ditching the iPhone for the Pre?

I hope not, because I'm getting one next month!

#4 Bhav on 01 Jul 2009 - 21:02

Perhaps a sign that O2 may lose its iPhone exclusivity in the near future?

Edit: lol sorry, Max said something similar

#5 dagamer34 on 01 Jul 2009 - 21:09

Probably no AT&T 3G band (1900Mhz) =/

(2 replies) #6 oufc_gav on 01 Jul 2009 - 21:12

Another good phone ruined by an awful network.

#6.1 MightyJordan on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:17

oufc_gav said,

Hey, O2 are alright. My dad's been with them for years, and he's had no problems with them at all.

#6.2 +TCLN Ryster on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:56

All networks have their plus and minus points. A shame that O2's network coverage is one massive minor point in my area.

The network sharing plan between O2 and Vodafone should hopefully improve that, but as usual O2 are not very good at communicating progress on such projects.

(1 reply) #7 Harbinger on 01 Jul 2009 - 21:22

I don't understand exclusivities on carriers. I find it silly and ridiculous but thats me. I remember sometime ago when they said EU would pass a law that would prohibit mobile makers/carriers from locking their devices for only one network. I wonder what happened to that

#7.1 GP007 on 01 Jul 2009 - 21:27

You can just buy the phone unlocked, though you're paying full price.

(3 replies) #8 cerealfreak on 01 Jul 2009 - 21:50

The iPhone was the only completely carrier exclusive phone in the UK!!!! Every other handset has been on all carriers, some have been released earlier on a specific network or in network specific colours but not specifically locked!!!!

I think this is a stupid move and means it won't work. If you have a choice between the two at the same price, which would you go for???

#8.1 MightyJordan on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:18

cerealfreak said,

The iPhone was the only completely carrier exclusive phone in the UK!!!! Every other handset has been on all carriers

Nope, you forgot about the Skypephone. That's only available on the 3 network.

#8.2 Bhav on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:42

And also:

G1 - T-Mobile
HTC Magic - Vodafone
Blackberry Storm - Vodafone

So there are plenty of exclusives!

#8.3 cerealfreak on 02 Jul 2009 - 00:13

oops I stand corrected, the skypephone however was not a specific model they were existing models nokia's mainly.

#9 +Chicane-UK on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:25

Wow... O2 must be loving these exclusivity deals. I'm sure they've sold a fair few iPhones, and I don't think bagging the pre is going to hurt them! They must be raking it in.

#10 Septimus on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:29

Oh dear... as an o2 iPhone customer I know they will screw you Pre owners sooner or later. Shame.

#11 +bmdixon on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:34

So this is why they're refusing to sell the n97..... Losing a lot of customers down to this, wonder if the iPhone and Pre are going to bring in enough people to make it worth it??.....

#12 Zoom7000 on 01 Jul 2009 - 22:38

I called O2 the other day, they said the N97 is coming at the end of July.

#13 +Brad. on 01 Jul 2009 - 23:05

hate to see the pricing for this tbh :/ the phone looks lush though

#14 njlouch on 01 Jul 2009 - 23:21

The PRE and the iPhone had the possibility of being major competitors, and creating a pricing battle... We could have stood to win...

O2 won!

#15 emzino on 01 Jul 2009 - 23:22

What kind of 3G technology does O2 use i.e. is it very good, does it use a modern band etc

#16 +dave164 on 02 Jul 2009 - 00:16

The O2 coverage around where i am is excellent and beats all other networks that i know (Orange, T-Mobile, Vodafone, Virgin Mobile etc.). There customer services is superb to, never had an issue, ranging from insurance claims to minor inquiries, Orange however were shocking.

Problem is, that O2 will charge retarded amounts for the contracts, and probably repeat iPhone tarrifs. Hopefully exclusivity will stop, promote some healthy competition in prices.

One hopes anyway...

#17 yakumo on 02 Jul 2009 - 01:10

£$%*"%" I didn't get an iPhone because it was on O2, I was really looking forward to the Pre coming out as a viable alternative.
But now I won't be getting that either.

(1 reply) #18 LiquidSolstice on 02 Jul 2009 - 08:16

IS it just me, or is this picture:

a concept image?

The battery and signal strength indicators aren't on the screen, they're above it?

#18.1 deadmonkey on 02 Jul 2009 - 18:02

Nope that is the final design. The time signal and battery are part of the screen, they are always at the top and applications only take up the curved edge rectangle. It looks really nice in person

#19 bbfc_uk on 02 Jul 2009 - 09:02

I don't really like the look of the Pre, it's not as sexy as the iPhone which is one of it's main selling points! I admit the first thing I look at is the way the phone looks, then the feature list.

BTW, o2 has the best network of all the carriers in the UK and it has a sharing deal with vodafone making the two the best networks.

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