Evidently, Palm has confirmed that it will be bringing the Palm Pre to the UK. Pocket-lint has an article quoting Paul Ghent, vice president of sales for Palm Europe:
"The Pre will indeed be available in H2 [2nd half] within the UK and selected European markets"
Stuart Miles over at Pocket-lint says that Palm has promised more specific information about the UK launch at Mobile World Congress in February.
The Boy Genius Report is also reporting on the Palm Pre's upcoming release in Europe. The BGR reports that Eldar Murtazin of Mobile-review was told by sources that the Palm Pre will launch with a steep price tag of $399. BGR also says that regarding the GSM version of the Palm Pre, Murtazin's sources state an early 2H release in Europe at a price of $500-$550 USD.
Engadget is also reporting on the Pre launch in the UK. According to their article, Ed Colligan mentioned in an interview with IDG that the Palm Pre would roll out in the first half of 2009, the same time frame as for the U.S.
From Engadget's article:
..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.
Sounds good to me! I soooo want the Palm Pre to be released on GSM! I'll gladly fork over some cash to Palm for an unlocked GSM version anytime!
Of course everyone also wants to know "when" Sprint folks will be able to get a Palm Pre. I just read in our forums in the Palm Pre pricing thread that forum member intro said:
just spoke to my friend, im officially mad at him. they have one for them to look at it's a demo phone --no calling or internet experience. he said the phone is going to actually come out pretty soon. he said a couple of weeks before the phone is released to the public that they have a meeting to learn more about the features so it's close but most likely about 2 months away...not bad
Hmmm... very interesting. We'll see if that turns out to be accurate. Would be great if it is.
