Pre Plus and Pixi Plus headed to Vodafone? 29
Sat, 03 Apr 2010 2:40 pm EDT
Ah, inventory systems, they’re so bad at keeping secrets. We’ve known for a while now that the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus were certified for sale in Europe, but the question was always “which carrier?” Rumors have pointed towards current Palm Pre seller O2 picking up the Plus variants, but we were never too sure about that - we've yet to see a "Plus" launch on the same network as an original.
As it would turn out, it looks more like competitor Vodafone will be picking up the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus. Inventory screens posted on Pre Ticker show the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus (along with replacement/exchange devices) listed in what is purported to be a Vodafone inventory screen (at the very least, it is German).
Is it possible that Vodafone could be picking up the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus? Absolutely, and it could stand to be a good thing for Palm. Vodafone has a larger footprint than O2, and behind China Mobile is the world’s no. 2 network in subscriber count. The question of “when” and “how much” is still up in the air, but given Palm’s dire predictions for the current quarter, we wouldn’t count on it being any time soon.
[via: webOS Blog.de]
29 Comments
i am just holding up for the next gen pre, bigger screen etc, but its good that palm is moving away from the exclusivity road in europe.
primero
No no...Segundo
Good news potentially!
Definitely good news if it's true. More sales means more money.
mo' money mo' problems
As a Czech Vodafone subscriber holding my breath! :)
"but given Palm
Obviously.
Which means it's also obvious to Palm.
Which means there is a reason why that wasn't possible.
Delays due to getting regulatory approval; hesitating carriers; limited developer resources; One of those and/or other reasons will be the explanation.
I'm sure Palm would have launched an anti-gravity Super-Pre with Awesome-Technology (TM) worldwide for xmas 08 it that would have been possible.
I would agree - but their predictions indicate that there will NOT be any significant product launches during the quarter.
I think when it came to 'dire quarter by Palm' I'm thinking they were just playing it safe. If Vodophone is #2 in terms of mobile footprint then this is definitely good for webOS.
Sorry for my lack of enthusiasm...my dog Spikey was just put down =/ He was suffering from cancer.
god, just release flash already.
yes please
When Adobe does that, we'll be the first to know, I'm sure.
god, just release flash already.
I've already see a new poster with the Pixi plus at a O2 Shop in Munich. So I'm quite sure, the Plus devices will hit Germany via O2!
Eventually they lost the exclusivity? But this will have no big impact, because the simlock free and plan free deal at O2 Germany is very fair to customers. Vodafone isn't ...
OMG, please have mercy!
I have nothing but bad experiences with Vodafone. There's a reason I switched to O2.
Totally agree, Vodafone UK are absolutely awful for customer service. O2 or T-Mobile please! Or all of them, just no exclusives!
Canada. We need a plus up here please. Rogers fido, gsm please and thanks. Bell but HPA or whatever that tech is called.
SFR is Vodafone (in France)...
So.. yeah.
well i don't have an inventory snap but my friend works in o2 uk and told me the pre and pixi plus is on their system. Coming soon. Ill try and get her to take a snapshot of it for proof bt pretty sure anyone who prefers o2 got nothing to worry about. Its defo gonna be my next upgrade. Depending on if this mysterious palm elan comes out by next year.
everyone in the world is going to have the plus phones except sprint it appears.
and Bell
...because Sprint will have "the world's first webOS 4G smartphone!"
If it does not land by Summer time, it will definitely be revealed by then to stir up some much appreciated hype...until ultimately landing in time for the Holidays =)
"...they will build quality and the masses will come."
Considering the vast majority of current UK Palm users are on O2 and already locked into a contract I do not see this as being a good move. Palm are struggling for market share and I would make the assumption that most people even considering a Pre/Pixi Plus would already own a Pre and be looking for an upgrade. I do not see Palm selling enough devices to new customers on a new network.
On what are you basing the statement "that the vast majority of UK Palm users are on o2"?
The Treo 750v, 500v and Pro were all released on Vodafone first and I've been on Vodafone since the Treo 270!
Even the Pre Plus hardware wise is looking dated so it's going to be a hard sell when compared to devices like the HTC Desire :o\
hey guys don't worry to much as i work for o2 and palm pre plus and pixi, not pixi plus have been on our stocking systems for a while too, just waiting for the launch date rumours are that it will be in may.
Anybody who's owned a Centro and used it on O2 might not agree with the positive comments about their service - they really didn't want to help me out at all when I rang them (a number of times).
I'm on Vodafone now and I agree their customer service is not amazing, however coverage is much better and prices are now very competitive. I hope they do release the Pre Plus!
I agree that this is potentially good news. I would never buy anything on O2 because coverage is awful. I live in London and, according to the O2 map, coverage is meant to be good. My son has an iPhone and he can only connect at the same speed as my Treo 680!
The frustrating thing is I gave up on the Pre because of the O2 thing and bought a Hero. If it had been released on every network I would probably have got one. Oh well. Maybe a really good WebOS device will be out by the time my contract expires.