Palm Pre 2 made official: 1GHz processor, 5MP camera, glass screen; Update: Official Specs

More of an evolutionary update to the Pre Plus than a revolution, the new Palm Pre 2 does a lot to bring the aging Pre line of smartphones up to modern standards. First up is the obvious physical change: the curved plastic screen has been replaced by a flatter and tougher glass screen surrounded by a new bezel design with an integrated and cover-free Micro USB port.

The Pre 2 also packs in a 1GHz processor and a new 5 megapixel camera. Apart from those updates, it’s largely the same phone as the current Pre Plus, even packing the same 512MB of RAM. To be fair, that’s been found to be plenty of RAM for the operating system and a few dozen running apps, which you'll be able to manage better with webOS 2.0. Most accessories, with the exception of form-fitted cases, should work just fine with the “streamlined” design of the Pre 2.

What might not work is your network. The Pre 2 is launching first on France’s SFR, and is doing so Friday at the rumored cost of 99€ on contract and 449€ off. Verizon is due to get the phone in “the coming months,” as is Canada. Any other carriers or countries were not discussed by HP. Same deal with pricing, though we do expect it to be reasonable give how the Pre 2 does lag behind in some features compared to other modern smartphones (though that extra processor oomph should help considerably).

Update: Palm has posted up the official specs, we got 'em after the break!

Read the Press Release