While the iPhone might be the most satisfying smartphone in the US, more and more Brits are looking toward the Palm Pre to quench their smartphone cravings. A new survey from TNS indicates that a healthy 26% of the UK is interested in picking up an O2 Palm Pre of their own – they are either definitely or probably going to buy an O2 Palm Pre in the near future. Compared with just 16% of Brits that were showed initial interest in the iPhone in TNS’s 2007 survey, it’s clear that the Palm Pre is in higher demand than the iPhone.
The survey also showed the 27% of current O2 customers were interested in picking up a Palm Pre. That compares with 17% of O2 customers that were looking to pick up an iPhone from their carrier in 2007. The numbers point to a UK Palm Pre launch that might just give the US launch some insecurity issues.
To be fair, the higher interest in the Palm Pre is likely attributable to the Pre’s free-on-contract pricing. The iPhone was offered for £269, and many of those initial iPhone customers are coming up on contract renewals that would allow them to put a Palm Pre in their pockets for free. There’s also the possibility that the iPhone itself may have boosted Palm Pre awareness by way of bringing the smartphone to forefront of the consumer mind.
The Palm Pre hasn’t been the fantastic success that Palm had hoped for the US market, but all is not lost. If TNS survey results pan out, Palm could see the Pre carving out significant market share in the UK.
[Via: CN]