Palm Pre to be an 02 Exclusive in the UK
July 3rd, 2009It seems certain that Palm will announce sometime next week that it has sealed an agreement with the 02 network to become their exclusive UK partners for their eagerly anticipated Palm Pre handset.
The new Palm Pre went on sale in the US last month and has been getting rave reviews as a possible alternative to the iPhone.
02 already have an exclusive deal in place with Apple to stock the iPhone in the UK and it’s a major coup to also have the exclusive deal for the Palm Pre. This deal will further reinforce their position as the UK’s largest mobile phone network. It’s believed that 02 had to fight off stiff opposition from Orange before finally securing the exclusive deal.
Unofficial sales figures in the US indicate that the Palm Pre has sold around 300,000 units and analysts see the device having a major role in reversing the fortunes of the company who have seen their market share decline over recent years.
Earlier this year, Palm’s chairman, Jon Rubinstein, said that launching a hit device was the vital first step on the road to recovery. “We’ve been fighting the battle with basically both hands tied behind our back for the past year and half,” he said. “Now we’re getting on the playing field, and we’re going to be extremely competitive. But it’s the beginning.”
The arrival of the iPhone a couple of years ago radically changed the handset market with its touchscreen and innovative features. Like many other handset manufacturers Palm had to do a rethink on their mobile phone strategy to compete with a device like the iPhone. While other touchscreen devices like the blackberry, the Nokia 5800 and the Google G1 phone appeared in the marketplace as alternatives it has taken until now for Palm to launch what they see as a serious rival to the Apple device.
In the US the Palm Pre was launched in an exclusive deal with Sprint and has been receiving complimentary reviews. The touchscreen on the Pre is reckoned to favour comparably with the iPhone and the full slide out QWERTY keyboard on the Pal Pre has been seen as a distinct advantage over the iPhone when typing emails.
It’s unclear exactly when 02 expect to launch the Pre in the UK but sometime in late August/September looks to be a fair bet. We’re looking forward to it already.
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