Pre launching for free in Germany on October 13, UK and Ireland on October 16 38
O2 announced today that the GSM Palm Pre will be launching in Europe in the middle of next month. The staggered release will see Germany getting their hands on the hot little smartphone on October 13th, with the United Kingdom and Ireland getting it on October 16th. Yup, that announcement really did come quickly.
Plans will vary by country. United Kingdom O2 customers will have several plan options for the Pre. On an 18-month contract you can sign up for a minimal contract of £29.38 a month (75 minutes, 125 texts, unlimited data) and get the Pre for £96.89. Alternatively, they can pay as little as £44.05 a month (1200 minutes, 500 texts, unlimited data) and get a Pre for free. Customers signing a 24-month contract for a minimum of £34.26 (600 minutes, 500 texts, unlimited data) will also get a Pre for free. All available plans for the Pre come with unlimited data on O2’s HDSPA network and access to 7500 affiliated WiFi hotspots.
German shoppers can pay €1 upfront for the Pre on a 24-month contract, with the rest of the phone subsidized at €20 a month over the contract. In total, you can expect to pay €481 for the phone, or an extra €2 to get the Pre contract-free (no word if that also means its SIM-lock free). The Pre will be available on any contract with O2 Germany, though they recommend you sign up for at least the €10/month data plan (otherwise you'll be loaded down with by-the-kb data charges). O2 Germany is also giving away 10 Palm Pre phones.
In Ireland, you can sign up for plans ranging from €40 (175 minutes, 100 texts, 10 MMS, 1 GB data) to €65 a month (450 minutes, 150 texts, 15 MMS, 1 GB data) for 18 months and get a Pre for just €99, while forking over €100 a month (700 minutes, 250 texts, 25 MMS, 1 GB data) for a year and a half will get you a Pre for free. All plans are limited to 1 GB of data month, though they do also all come with unlimited access to O2’s WiFi hotspot network.
The German O2 website has also confirmed that the GSM Pre is indeed a Quad-band phone, with dual-band UMTS support (all told, we’re talking EDGE, UMTS, and HSDPA). Apart from that, the phone is practically the same as the CDMA Pre seen on Sprint and Bell Mobility.
Thanks to everybody that sent this in!
38 Comments
"In total, you can expect to pay
Please show a little more class. That comment was uncalled for. Very immature.
why was it uncalled?
he keeps reiterating the some old and wrong information. and he gets corrected every time. and on the next occasion he is again repeating the wrong information. I did not called any names, and it was, as I mentioned, not the first time he wrote the wrong information about this subject.
You don't have to call names to be insulting...
"are you really that uninformed?", "how often should we repeat it, until you understand it?"
Also, where exactly did you mention that this is not the first time he wrote the wrong information about this subject? Are you referring to this line: "it has repeated more than once in this forum". That sentence does not convey that at all.
Here is what your post should have looked like:
'Just wanted to let you know that the contract-free plan in Germany is indeed SIM-lock free.'
Adding something like 'Thanks for posting all of these details.' would have been nice too, but if that's not your cup of tea that's fine.
"Here is what your post should have looked like:"
I would have written something similar, if it was the first time, he wrote it. actually I was tired of reading this wrong information repeatedly, as it was known since it was clear, that O2 in Germany gets the pre, that it will be sim-lock free.
I apologize for being a little rude!
e.g... a few days back:
http://www.precentral.net/palm-none-too-happy-about-uk-unlocked-pre-reta...
he said there:
"at launch the GSM Pre will be available in Europe only with O2 - though whether you can buy one from O2 without contract and/or unlocked is unfortunately still an open question."
and got corrected here:
http://www.precentral.net/palm-none-too-happy-about-uk-unlocked-pre-reta...
and even that was not the first time. so I simply got tired of reading this. but as I already said, I apologize for my rudeness!
Let's tone it down a bit, shall we?
Show me where O2 or Palm have come out and said "Here's an unlocked GSM Pre" and I'll gladly update the article.
http://o2online.de/nw/handys/o2myhandy/o2-my-handy.html
there is a headline
"Alle Ger
I'll jump on the wagon of you could exercise a little more appreciation, but that page doesn't refer specifically to the Pre... I know it would seem that the Pre would fall under the same rule but we don't have a definitive answer.
I already apologized, so what?
"but that page doesn't refer specifically to the Pre"
yes, it does not. but it refers to a kind a contract. and that is the contract (called "O2 my handy") you can get the pre with.
if you go here:
http://o2online.de/nw/handys/palmpre/palm-pre.html?et_cid=25&et_lid=3587...
you can read "O2 My Handy". and with "O2 my handy" the url I posted in my last message is valid for describing the conditions. you can choose to stay suspicious or simply believe what the German users here on the site are telling you.
I really don't think that means anything really. Nobody has officaly said that the Pre will be sim-lock free in Germany. I mean wasn't Sprint with Verizon here in the states talking about how all their smartphones will have WiFi in the future? Like before the Blackberry Tour came out? I at least thought Sprint said the same thing as Verizon and if they did then why does the Pixi not have WiFi? The point everyone is trying to make is there is no proof. A website link isn't really proof it's just a possibility. I have been following cell phones for over a year now and I cant even count on my hands and feet how many times I have seen a website with mistaken information on it displaying stuff about cell phones.
believe what you want to believe
In most European country's its illegal to sell phones sim locked, not sure how Palm are going to get round that one.
damn you, switzerland ;-)
I'm looking forward to this like a little child!
Oooooh, I'll be visiting Ireland The last week of October. Are the phones going to be sold unlocked? maybe I'll pick on up w/o a contract
I live in Australia and have been waiting for this phone for so long and discovered it won't be arriving here for the foreseable future :-(
However I will be in Canada in January.
[fingers crossed] Is there going to be a chance of getting a sim unlocked GSM based PRE in Canada by then? [/fingers crossed]
Since, in Canada its eclusive to Bell, I don't think so.
Would a short visit in Germany to pick up a pre at some O2 shop too far?
as147: Where have you heard its not coming to Australia? Source pls.
Hi, read this thread and you will have all the data
http://forums.precentral.net/palm-pre/201710-palm-wont-australia-months....
I think that Pre has some light leakage...
Ok here we go again a free Pre on contract of 64.81 rounded up which is just a hair over the cheapest Sprint price and don't even get me started on Bell's 3yr contract. Anyways i hate American prices. And then it goes back to the post about how people think free would mean a cheap product. Where do we get that mentality and not Europeans? I do feel very very sorry for people in Ireland. Highest plan is 147.10 us dollars for only 250 texts and 25 MMS and only 1 GB of data. THAT my friend is crazy business. How did Ireland not make the highest cell phone plan rates while USA Canada and Spain did. Look at that plan there its just nuts. My phone bill would be well over 147.10 with that plan since I would send like 1000 texts a month and like 200 MMS and use like fifty dozen GB of data :)
I'm glad that they've FINALLY posted release info for the UK. Though i'm disappointed (but unsurprised) that O2 have decided on the same rip-off pricing for the Pre as they use for the iPhone, presumably to stop people deciding to go for the Pre instead of an iPhone. I guess Apple may have something to do with this...
"
"Pre launching for free in Germany on October 13"
what do you mean by "free"?
Will GSM version Pre supports WCDMA?
What the hell is the delay with the GSM Pre !
Either we are idiodts or suckers !
Damn Palm get your act togeather and sell the bloody phone !
Qwertz keybds only ....pathetic !
Thank you very much for this information.
Good post thanks for sharing.
I like this site ;)
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When will the Pre be available in Singapore? The wait is long and Samsung and Motorola are releasing some decent Android phones with qwerty keyboard soon. Palm, work something out with the telcos here, otherwise you will be losing some loyal fans two times the competition heats up.
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