Disqus
Palm is launching its Pre 2 handset in the UK starting on November 15th but the handset will not land on the shelves of any major wireless carrier in the UK. According to Pocket-Lint, a quick perusal of wireless carriers reveals that none of the four major wireless carriers in the UK have plans to carry the handset.
Orange UK: “We have no plans to stock it at the moment”
Three: “No, there are no plans to range the Palm Pre 2 at this time.”
Vodafone UK: “We don’t plan to feature the device in the UK range”.
O2 UK: “The Palm Pre Two will not be available on O2. We offer a range of the best handsets through our product portfolio and regularly review this to ensure it continues to meet the demands of our customers”, the company told Pocket-lint. “We’ve always offered our customers a choice of experiences when they come to buy a new phone and we were excited to add webOS and the Palm Pre to our range. We’re still fans of webOS – the Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus are available from us today – but won’t be taking the Palm Pre Two”.
While the Pre 2 will be available unlocked for £399 from Palm, the lack of carrier support does not bode well for Palm and its Pre 2 handset. As we saw with the online-only Google Nexus One, customers like to go into a retail store and look at a phone before purchase. Admittedly, some hardcore fans will purchase the Pre 2 sight unseen, but most won’t. It is a bitter pill to swallow but Palm will miss out on a lot of potential sales because none of the wireless carriers will stock the Pre 2 handset.
[Via Pocket Lint]
About The Author
Kelly Hodgkins
Kelly spent the last four years covering mobile technology at places like BGR, Gizmodo and The Unofficial Apple Weblog. Before writing, she spent a few years working with and teaching others how to use Adobe Flash and Macromedia Director. Even earlier than that, she spent several years as a Ph.D student in Microbiology. When she's not writing, she can be found fishing the lakes and hiking the mountains of Western Maine with her husband and tribe of children. You can follow her on Twitter @kellyhodgkins.
