Palm CEO says Europe gets Pre in the first half, too

According to the press materials, Palm hadn't intended to announce a timeframe for the 3G GSM version of the Pre this week, but Ed Colligan can pretty much do and say whatever he pleases -- it's one of the perks of wearing the CEO hat -- and he's apparently mentioned in an interview with IDG that it'll roll out in the first half of 2009. That puts the model right in line with the launch window for the CDMA-based Sprint version, giving the carrier virtually zero exclusivity on the global stage -- so if 1337 h4x0rz can figure out how to unlock the thing (and if we were betting folk, we'd wager they can), this all means EDGE-only Pres could end up on AT&T and T-Mobile USA lickety-split. Even if that means losing the European 3G guts, you know you'd buy it. Come on now, don't lie to yourself.

[000000 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:06PM]

I would not buy one. I kind of need 3G for any type of reception whatsoever where I live. Also I'm sick of these companies excluding bands. Please include all bands. Please. Palm is an American company why diss Americans by excluding American bands? I don't care how much Sprint paid you have some damn integrity.

[Tonicboy @ Jan 9th 2009 2:35PM]

The radios installed on phones are just a question of cost. Europe and Asia don't use GSM 850MHz so why would they include it and unnecessarily inflate the price? That would be like adding PAL support to all TV's sold in America. Makes no sense.

[000000 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:52PM]

Makes sense if your a European who travels to the U.S. But I guess there aren't any Europeans who travel to the U.S. so maybe you're right...

[PhilR8 @ Jan 9th 2009 3:09PM]

Hey, you live in the U.S. and want the Pre? Stop whining and sign up for Sprint service. It's that easy.

[a ham sandwich @ Jan 9th 2009 2:07PM]

yay! europe doesn't get screwed this time. ok...well...not as much anyway.

btw, is there a video anywhere of palm's keynote? and yes, of course i already read engadget's liveblog.

[dalus87 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:33PM]

I'm confused, are they saying is if you unlock a gsm version i can only use edge??:S:S
explain
oh and Here you go Friend.
KeyNote Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6l0birqeig&feature=related
click related videos to see the other parts

[Tonicboy @ Jan 9th 2009 2:36PM]

@dalus87

It's because the Europe-version of the phone would only support European bands of 3G. So, while you could technically use the 3G radio in the phone, you will never get a signal in America.

[dalus87 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:42PM]

hmm interesting...
i'm not in the states, i'm in Jamaica,
So my options for a carrier narrows down to Claro and "LIME" if they ever get their 3g service up

[Verythrax @ Jan 9th 2009 2:08PM]

So it means 3G in South America out of the box?

Yaya!

[V Langs @ Jan 9th 2009 7:24PM]

@ From my Cube

stop being so loyal to verizon, you don't owe them anything nor have they ever done anything for you. as for the phone never letting you down: in europe your not on verizon...your on something else. and your lucky your employer pays the bill.

if you can't figure out what verizon locked on your phone...your not a power user. your definition of a power user would be half the women i know (biiiigggg talkers/texters)

[DBinSD @ Jan 9th 2009 2:09PM]

I can't believe serious power users, who are the market for this phone, would want to have anything to do with T-Mobile. I can see wanting to use it on Verizon, but T-Mobile? Really? And many people - yours truly included - are avoiding the iPhone because it's chained to AT&T, which is the only carrier in my memory to require regional outage updates on Engadget. I just don't know how many people are really going to go all out to import a GSM device like that just to put it on a more expensive, less effective network.

[YpoCaramel @ Jan 9th 2009 2:16PM]

You're disregarding travelers who actually need a worldphone.

[YukonDawg @ Jan 9th 2009 2:31PM]

Um...power users that don't have $150 a month on a cell phone bill for a decent amount of minutes, data, and text messages. I've spent *half" the cost using the iPhone (EDGE) on T-mobile than I would be paying with at&t for the same service (1000 minute/unlimited data/text)

[dalus87 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:35PM]

i wanna import but i'm not in the states, and even though there's a cdma carrier where i'm from,
i kinda like having a sim card,
ive had my number for 5 years with 5 different phones, its sentimental :'(

[chefgon_ign @ Jan 9th 2009 2:43PM]

There are power users on Verizon? They are the king of locking down phones and disabling features. If I was a power user on Verizon then I'd be really disappointed.

I like T-Mobile because they offer absolutely no additional services beyond voice and data coverage. They don't load some crappy music store or video streaming service onto their phones, they just give you the phones as the manufacturers intended them.

[From My Cube @ Jan 9th 2009 3:26PM]

@chefgon_ign

By these terms I would consider myself a "power user" on VZW, my BB8830 WE doesnt seem to have any features locked out...FYI: 2000 mins usage a month, email and data with the global roaming plan, close to 500+ of those minutes are used in europe or asia....thankfully my employer pays the phone bill but the phone has never let me down and nor has VZW service

[oZ @ Jan 9th 2009 3:42PM]

Power users want the quality and global usage of a GSM phone. Power users want a provider who isn't out to constantly screw them. Power users want a provider with a full deployment testing process so they don't flub huge launches. I don't know why you wouldn't want T-Mobile, unless you live in a backwater.

[rpa @ Jan 9th 2009 3:59PM]

I bought my unlocked Centro in Hong Kong and it works fine on T-Mobile. I would buy a GSM Pre in a heartbeat overseas as I don't really care about 3G compatibility due to battery drain but wifi and a better camera would be nice not to mention the potential of the new O/S which looks great. Oh, and did I mention the screen?

[Charles R Hamilton @ Jan 9th 2009 2:10PM]

I'm still wondering what happened to that picture of the battery compartment on this phone. It disappeared yesterday.

[??? @ Jan 9th 2009 2:10PM]

That beret was totally unnecessary.

[DP @ Jan 9th 2009 2:16PM]

I thought it was kind of cute.

[dalus87 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:40PM]

it was hilarious lol

[zbot @ Jan 9th 2009 3:16PM]

Actually, kudos to engadget for one of the more hilarious graphics EVAARRRRRR. so friggin funny.

[Loonie @ Jan 9th 2009 4:23PM]

A stripey shirt and string of onions would have covered the screen up.

[r3loaded @ Jan 9th 2009 6:31PM]

Nice touch, but what would a truly "European" Palm Pre look like? We'll need a beret, a sombrero, lederhosen, etc. etc...

Or just slap the EU flag on it and be done :P

[Félix @ Jan 10th 2009 9:14AM]

I don't know but it would be awesome.

[Sea Urchin @ Jan 9th 2009 2:10PM]

I wish Palm all the best, but this thing doesn't look very good (from what i can see) compare that to Iphone.

[Joe H @ Jan 9th 2009 2:13PM]

Unless you've watched the UI in motion on some of the videos, they just looking at it is limiting.

This thing is like an iPhone on steroids.

[Kris120890 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:11PM]

Cool. I'll pre-order as soon as they launch. Although that could depend on network providers.

[Shugg @ Jan 12th 2009 10:12PM]

I thought u had sprint,. A dieing signal,.dee dee deee!

[Ryan Waddell @ Jan 9th 2009 2:11PM]

And of course, no mention of Canada. WTF, why are we always the tech ghetto of the world? I was frankly SHOCKED that we got the iPhone 3G at the same time as the rest of the world... Still no sign of an Android phone hitting the market up here either.

[??? @ Jan 9th 2009 2:14PM]

Cos you're nothing more than a hat to us.

[joe23521 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:18PM]

Or, a beret.

[Jonathan @ Jan 9th 2009 2:23PM]

Agreed. I think it is irresponsible for Palm to think that "if they don't have Sprint, it must be Europe." Canada wants this phone too. With an operating system called WebOS, then why would you want to use with with a slow web? (unlocked europe version used here).

[Boarderwoot @ Jan 9th 2009 2:25PM]

Joe that's only quebec

[finnith @ Jan 9th 2009 4:18PM]

Either way, whenever it comes to us we will overpay for it since Rogers basically has a monopoly.

[mos @ Jan 9th 2009 2:13PM]

I kinda need a new phone and I do not care about the 3G since the campus has wifi.

[Colonel Kernel @ Jan 9th 2009 2:13PM]

It is what it is. Carriers matter, whether we like it or not. While I applauded Palm's move to lauch the Treo sans-carrier in the US I still haven't seen or heard of a single in-the-wild report.

AT&T should get it soon enough, or, possible, their own WebOS phone that will be exclusive to them.

[RemDX @ Jan 9th 2009 3:00PM]

You intend to live on campus your whole life?

[YpoCaramel @ Jan 9th 2009 2:15PM]

Ugh. As a USA/Asia person, I'll be the first to whine: even the Storm has GSM roaming, as do plenty of Verizons (Saga, z6c etc...). This is hardly a satisfactory situation, if indeed the US version is CDMA only and the Euro version will likely be 900/1900/2100. That means for us its either USA only and get a crapphone in Asia for more money or go without 3G in the States. This is what makes the Fuze so tempting: it supports all 4 3G bands. Hopefully the Pre will get a quadband 3G modem too, though its unlikely given that the Fuze seems to be exception rather than the rule.

[fred @ Jan 11th 2009 11:42PM]

As a US (company) EU (citizen) Asia (resident) I completely agree!! This device seems to have the potential to be a winner, so Palm, if you want to capture the business and power users, keep the extra radio/frequency and make it a real worldphone, otherwise I would have to buy another brand and even cheap handset that easily handles the different continents (like they did already 5 years ago). Actually, when US colleagues come over to China, HongKong, Japan, it is pittyfull how they struggle to be able to use their cellphones.

[Neeko @ Jan 9th 2009 2:18PM]

ok please whe will Sprint have it. I have been holding out for a while. illeven upgrade to the everything plan. Just dont make it more then $300.. Damn you Sprint i know you set a high price i just know it.

[Bufsabre @ Jan 9th 2009 2:22PM]

this phone is jamie hyneman approved

[joe23521 @ Jan 9th 2009 2:24PM]

Nah, that's just a myth.

[waterwagen @ Jan 9th 2009 2:34PM]

Busted!

[thatrotierkid @ Jan 9th 2009 2:35PM]

http://ui29.gamespot.com/156/mythwalrus_2.jpg

favorite picture ever

[holycow @ Jan 9th 2009 2:26PM]

I really really like this phone. Gotta wait for some real-world reviews before i buy it though!

[ExtraMedium @ Jan 9th 2009 3:01PM]

Yeah.. the phone looks nice. I can't buy anything from them after that Claus crap though.

[Dave @ Jan 9th 2009 2:34PM]

I wish Verizon could get this and/or the iPhone. Who uses Sprint/T-Mobile anymore? Verizon had a chance with the Storm, but that only lasted 3 days before I returned it. Blackberry - please see videos of Pre and learn how to make your Storm not lag.

[dvsbstrd @ Jan 9th 2009 3:15PM]

>Who uses Sprint/T-Mobile anymore?

Millions of people who don't appreciate being nickeled and dimed for features that should've been enabled by default.