There might not even be enough handsets for the US market...US launch for Pre, but when will it hit the UK?
The white-hot phone of the moment, the Palm Pre, launches in the US tomorrow, and initial reviews have been promising.
To say it is eagerly awaited in the UK is an understatement, but T3 knows it’ll be a while coming. Here are our top five reasons to keep calm for a few months:
1) Who will carry the Palm Pre in the UK?
Despite the speculation that 02 will be the official UK carrier for the Palm Pre, we anticipate there could be issue with the fact that they already hold exclusivity on the iPhone. We think it may be highly unlikely for 02 to be given such luxury of the holding the rights of both smartphones and feels there is still a lot more talking to be done before we know who gets first dibs on the Palm Pre.
2) Supply and demand
We’ve already heard that there might not even be enough handsets for the US market, so the chances of there being enough to support a UK launch before Christmas are low.
3) Lack of GSM model
Palm is yet to officially announce a European GSM version of the Pre, and production is not thought to have begun yet. This delay will allow Palm to assess demand more accurately.
4) Will Palm be sizing up the smartphone opposition?
It’s been a busy few weeks for smartphones, with strong contenders from most manufacturers, as well as a widely-rumoured iPhone in the offing. With the UK market so busy, it makes sense for Palm to concentrate on their existing deals in the US, before looking to crack the UK and Europe.
5) Will the Appstore be ready?
The US Pre comes with Sprint-specific apps (Sprint Navigator), which won’t translate at all in the UK. Nokia has recently been canned for a botched OVI store rollout, and Palm can ill-afford any similar incidents. Making sure that the basic productivity apps are stable and using the current buzz around launch to get more developers on board makes sense
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