The Palm Pre will make its debut in Europe next month. U.K.-based carrier O2 has the exclusive rights to sell the webOS-powered smartphone in Europe.
Palm said Thursday that O2 will be the exclusive wireless provider in the U.K., Ireland and Germany for an undisclosed amount of time. O2 has confirmed the deal.
The Palm Pre, which has a slide-out keyboard, Web browsing, music, photos and videos, launched with exclusive rights in the U.S. through Sprint, and in Canada through Bell Mobility.
O2 said Palm’s Pre will be marketed to businesses and will include multitasking features, GPS and compatibility with 3G and secure Wi-Fi networks. The device also includes support for Exchange ActiveSync.
In Europe, the Pre will be launched first in Germany on Oct. 13. Customers in Ireland and the U.K. will be able to purchase the Pre a few days later on Oct. 16, according to Palm’s David Contreras.
O2 customers who sign a two-year service contract will receive the smartphone for free. For an 18-month contract, service will cost $117.74 a month, according to O2. The phone is being sold through O2, the Carphone Warehouse, Phones 4U, and businesses in O2’s partner program, according to the company. Consumers will also be able to buy the smartphone online via O2’s Web site.
In Europe, the Pre will be sold with Palm’s Touchstone charging dock.
The Palm Pre’s launch outside the U.S. has generated a lot of excitement, based predominantly on Palm’s new webOS architecture, according to the company.
“There’s a lot of excitement about Palm Pre in Europe as we continue to expand Palm webOS products across new carriers and countries,” said Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s chairman and CEO. “We look forward to launching Palm Pre with O2 so people in the U.K. can see firsthand how Palm webOS…