Palm to disclose UK Pre launch details next week?

We heard way back at CES that a GSM Pre was in the works, but not until now have we heard who exactly in the world would be using it. According to confirmation received by T3, Palm is gearing up to disclose the whos, whats and wheres behind the UK launch next week, meaning that we've got seven days (give or take) to twiddle our thumbs until we know which carrier (O2 or Vodafone, most likely), how much and when it'll be available for purchase. We know it's agonizing, but at least you've a time frame to circle in your Trapper Keeper now, right?

[Timmy @ Jul 1st 2009 9:22AM]

So, was this a pre Pre disclosure of the disclosure for the Pre?

[E C S Sucks @ Jul 1st 2009 9:18AM]

Lost me because they took so long. Went with a Samsung jet instead. If they would have been quicker.

[OneLove @ Jul 1st 2009 10:41AM]

LARGER KEYBOARD PLZ!

[Louis @ Jul 1st 2009 11:21AM]

@OneLove: I can see your need for a larger keyboard is desperate - your Caps Lock key must be too small to turn off!

[bluesky_v2.01 @ Jul 1st 2009 12:54PM]

@OneLove
Keyboard enlarging patch is scheduled to come out sometime next week.

[sweet greggo @ Jul 1st 2009 1:11PM]

and the best thing is it will be OTA.

[Gibson @ Jul 1st 2009 2:58PM]

The carrier is 99% likely O2. The largest carrier in the UK, good news for Palm.

[matt @ Jul 1st 2009 9:20AM]

should have pushed to get this announced before the 3Gs was released.

[Look_Around_You @ Jul 1st 2009 9:44AM]

Can we please dispense with this idea that a company needs to schedule their products releases around Apple, as if the entire body public is just in the market for their product only?

[Kelmon @ Jul 1st 2009 9:59AM]

@Look_Around_You

Honestly, no. Like it or not the iPhone is a very well known device that is seen as a competitor to the Pre (wrongly, in my opinion) and announcing the Pre for other locations would potentially have reduced the demand for Apple's new device. You only have to look at the timing of the Pre's release in the US to see that Palm wanted to get the device on the streets before the new iPhone was announced.

[Cheddar @ Jul 1st 2009 11:14AM]

Ok, for the record the Pre is seen as a competitor to the iPhone as it is already established and the Pre is new not the other way around. Anyone that thinks the iPhone is not a worthy smartphone is living in dream world.

As for the release date, any news in advance of a competitor's launch would be helpful IMO so people know how long they would have to wait. Problem is I don't think Palm had any idea what demand would be like and when they would have phones ready for UK.

Finally, @Look...ignoring Apple's popularity will not make them less popular. I realize you hate everything Apple but unfortunately tens of millions of iPhone users disagree.

Palm is seriously dropping the ball with the Pre...their advertising sucks (too much visual not enough phone), there are serious product defect concerns, and finally, their failure to launch a viable App store competitor is killing them in the market. They cannot wait a year to get serious in this game because they don't have the luxury of waiting like Apple did since Apple's move in this space made apps CRITICAL to all phones. Just look at the new Verizon ads for LG, etc. phones...they all talk up how "app friendly" they are. That is the new wave, and Palm is losing ground every day.

[Look_Around_You @ Jul 1st 2009 11:24AM]

"Finally, @Look...ignoring Apple's popularity will not make them less popular. I realize you hate everything Apple but unfortunately tens of millions of iPhone users disagree."

#1 you mindless simpleton, I dont hate everything Apple. Like most people we hate their dingbat fanatics.

#2 A company is free to release their product whenever they want, and should without someone pipping in bout how it's too close to this release from Apple or too close to that Apple event.

Which if you take into account all of their events, would make it impossible to release anything during the whole calendar year.

The entire buying public does not consist of 100% "I want an iPhone" and 0.000000001% that dont despite what Apple fanboys like to believe, and on top of that there are always people entering into the market all of the time, so who cares when a product is released.

And before you start pointing out build quality of other products, you need to pay more attention to the iPhone overheating issues. Or let me guess, you convinced yourself that was all made up, right?

[Cheddar @ Jul 1st 2009 1:50PM]

@ Look...ignorance is bliss must be your personal mantra.

blah, blah, fanboys, blah blah...you going to use the "I am rubber you are glue" argument next?

As for product releases, if your primary market/competition is the iPhone (as is the case with the Pre and many other attempts at knockoffs...e.g., Storm, Touch, etc.) then I would either steer clear of the iPhone launch dates (pretty simple, once a year in June/July). You cannot compete with something if you don't play the game. If Palm doesn't care (and I am sure to some extent they don't) that is fine.

I never said 100% of the population wants an iPhone...I SAID tens of millions of people wanted an iPhone.

Overheating issues is a new one to me...you trying to start a rumor here...are you talking about the "discoloration" on the new white iPhones? Not sure where you are going here but I don't hear people running around screaming because their iPhones are overheating.

I don't hear of too many people giving up their iPhone to go back to a Pre...I do read lots of chatter on PreCentral.net about how crap the Pre is (build quality...seems OS is reasonably solid).

The story will write itself...people will vote with their wallets. Sure both companies will keep some diehard fans but the masses will choose the better product. We shall see...

[David @ Jul 1st 2009 9:20AM]

O2 have it

[Kevin @ Jul 1st 2009 9:23AM]

finally.. nothing like waiting until the hype flattens out

[Gibson @ Jul 1st 2009 3:00PM]

Less hype doesn't make webOS and Pre any less amazing.

[Greg N. @ Jul 1st 2009 9:23AM]

Why is every company announcing the release dates/periods of their phones and HTC hasn't said a damn thing about their US version of the Touch Pro2?

[Dayne @ Jul 1st 2009 9:48AM]

I'd like to welcome our British cousins to the wonderful world of the Pre.

Wait.....did you just say trapper keeper?

[sryan715 @ Jul 1st 2009 9:50AM]

Does this mean Ireland too?

[Kelmon @ Jul 1st 2009 10:01AM]

Probably, if you mean Northern Ireland. If you mean the Republic of Ireland then I have my doubts, although a separate announcement for the country is certainly possible.

[Ssco @ Jul 1st 2009 9:54AM]

I wonder if O2 get it if they'll put it on the same rip-off tarrifs as the iPhone

[Kelmon @ Jul 1st 2009 10:14AM]

Huh, you should be so lucky. The idea of "Rip-Off Britain" is a nonsense. I'm an expat living in Belgium at the moment and I wish I could be ripped-off like you. The official carrier of the iPhone here is Mobistar and their entry call plan for EUR 30.00 per month (about £26 at the moment) and for that we get (*drum roll*) 180-minutes of calls, or 300 SMSs, or 150 MMSs (note: that's "or" not "and", so the calculations will be interesting) and a whole 200MB of data per month. I'd consider selling my grandmother for 600-minutes of calls, 500 SMSs and unlimited data, but she's been dead for years and probably quite smelly by now (may she rest in peace). A similar plan to the basic O2 one costs EUR 45 and even then we only get a stingy 500MB data and whacky allowance calculations.

Honestly, come over here and pay for a year's car insurance and tell me that the UK is still a rip-off...it's bloody daylight robbery here.

[Tim Brown @ Jul 1st 2009 10:19AM]

I bloody hope not, would prefer Vodafone to get their hands on it as they have much better business tariffs. O2 always sting you on the data front, 3 and Vodafone have much better data plans.

[DevilKaps @ Jul 1st 2009 10:20AM]

Hopefully it would not be as expensive as Iphone 3Gs is.
And the release should be within this month. :)
Was waiting for the phone from the moment i saw it in CES 2009.
Hopefully the phone will be as good in hand as it is in the video's.

[Tim @ Jul 1st 2009 10:24AM]

And it's probably going to be at least another month before we see them instores... Why can't they do it like the HTC Hero? Announced and instores 2 weeks later (eXpansys UK has a July 6th release date)... If it's some date in September or October, I'll most likely go with the HTC Hero... Pity...

[Tux @ Jul 1st 2009 4:16PM]

Ahh... if only 3 were big enough to snap this one up.

[DiGiC @ Jul 1st 2009 11:03AM]

THANK GOD its no later than next week to find out, I was on the brink of buying a 3GS today, not anymore

[mrjeffery @ Jul 1st 2009 11:19AM]

I hope Vodafone have it so i can upgrade in a couple months and then sell it for a Hero.

[NickNick @ Jul 1st 2009 11:35AM]

Who else is watching Murray here?

match should be over soon, it looks like it

[Kelmon @ Jul 1st 2009 3:54PM]

It was all over before I got home from work. However, the Roddick/Hewitt match looks like it might go the distance. I like both players but if I had to choose one then I'd go with Hewitt since everyone loves an underdog and his attitude is infectious.

[Alex Wilks @ Jul 1st 2009 12:02PM]

My O2 contract allows me to upgrade as of Sunday- better be good news. Certainly can't afford an iPhone at their prices and would prefer the Pre anyway.

[Jayconverge @ Jul 1st 2009 12:33PM]

ahhh a bit too late, couldnt wait so stuck with winmo and grabbed a htc touch pro 2 around 4 weeks ago.

[Alco @ Jul 1st 2009 1:06PM]

Oh my, I was expecting a launch in the fall or before Christmas but if it's in july, that would be amazing!