Pre 2 Palmed Off By UK Mobile Networks!
Written by Rob Nichols on November 14, 2010 · Filed under Tech
I’m sure when HP decided to splash $1.2billion acquiring Palm this wasn’t part of their grand UK plan, but it seems that all UK mobile phone networks have shunned the opportunity to carry the Pre 2, which is set to be released on Monday here in the UK for a sim-free price of £399 and also wears the burden of being the first device to show off WebOS 2.0.
Despite the relatively low price for a smartphone and the software improvements, hardware-wise the Pre 2 is aesthetically very similar to the original Palm Pre, and perhaps this is the reason that UK carriers will associate it so closely to what was a real flop, particularly in the UK market.
Even though the hardware has been bumped, the smartphone market has grown exponentially in the last year since the original Pre release with more and more manufacturers entering the premium game.
HP/Palm then, has an extremely tough job in getting the Pre 2 to the UK market, with UK mobile carriers giving a blunt statement to Engadget saying they have no plans to carry the Palm Pre 2.
So, the mobile phone networks that stood by the Palm Pre, the Pixi and both the Pluseditions , have essentially told them to stuff it, so if you really want a Palm Pre 2 running WebOS 2.0, you’ll have to buy it unlocked despite the pretty strong rumours that O2 were set to back the device from launch, much like O2 had Palm Pre exclusivity at launch.
Were you a fan of the Palm Pre, did you want to get the Palm Pre 2 on a contract and are disappointed by the news? Or is there already plenty of good smartphone options already with that of the iPhone 4 and numerous Android and Windows Phone 7 handsets?
Via – Engadget
Massively disappointed…. Wanted to get it on contract – not sure if I can save enough to buy the phone outright =(
It’s not set in stone, keep an eye out for O2 making a u-turn