Palm webOS Phone to Arrive in UK, Ireland, Germany and Spain on Local
Telefónica Networks
Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that the Palm® Pre™
phone is scheduled to be available initially in the UK, Ireland and
Germany exclusively on the O2 network, and in Spain exclusively on the
Movistar network, in time for the holidays. Palm Pre, the first phone
based on the new Palm webOS™ mobile platform, brings your information
from the many places it resides – on your phone, at work or on the web –
into one simple, integrated view.(1)
“Europe continues to be an important region for Palm, and we’re proud to
work with O2 and Movistar to spread the excitement Palm Pre has already
ignited in North America,” said Jon Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief
executive officer. “Since we showed Palm Pre at Mobile World Congress in
February, there’s been a great deal of anticipation for an announcement
about European availability, and that day is here.”
“We are fast becoming the home of the smartphone with the addition of
the hotly-anticipated Palm Pre to our already extensive portfolio,” said
Matthew Key, chairman and chief executive officer, Telefónica Europe.
“Our customers will be the first outside of North America to experience
one of the most successful mobile devices of the year.”
In its first weekend of availability in the United States, Palm Pre
broke Sprint’s previous first-weekend sales records. Palm Pre also is
scheduled to debut in Canada with Bell Mobility in the second half of
2009.
Palm Pre introduces a breakthrough user interface and hardware design
that makes it one of the most integrated and user-friendly mobile phones
on the market. Featuring a smooth, elegantly rounded ergonomic design
and a physical keyboard that slides out only when needed, Palm Pre is
engineered to feel natural in your hand and comfortably small in your
pocket. When closed, Palm Pre is ideal for phone calls, web browsing,
music, photos and videos; when open, Palm Pre is optimized for email and
text messaging. It provides an exceptional experience for phone calls,
whether held to your ear, over speakerphone or via Bluetooth.
With its curved slider and gesture-controlled touch interface, Palm Pre
fuses exquisite design with the revolutionary webOS software for fast
access to content on the device or web. Invented exclusively for mobile
use, webOS offers an instinctive user experience that seems to
anticipate your needs.
Key Features and Benefits of Palm webOS
Palm Synergy™, a key feature of the new webOS, brings your information
from all the places it resides into one logical view. You don’t have to
worry about tracking multiple calendars, contacts and messaging
applications – Synergy seems to think ahead to bring you a more
comprehensive and truly representative view of your life.
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Linked contacts – With Synergy,
you have a single view that links your contacts from a variety of
sources, so accessing them is easier than ever. For example, if you
have the same contact listed in your Outlook(2), Google and
Facebook accounts, Synergy recognizes that they’re the same person and
links the information, presenting it to you as one listing.
-
Layered calendars – Your
calendars can be seen on their own or layered together in a single
view, combining work, family, friends, sports teams, or other
interests. You can toggle to look at one calendar at a time, or see
them all at a glance.
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Combined messaging – Synergy
lets you see all your conversations with the same person in a
chat-style view, even if it started in IM and you want to reply with
text messaging. You can also see who’s active in a buddy list right
from contacts or email, and start a new conversation with just one
touch.
By smartly integrating your information, webOS seems to think ahead for
you to keep you on top of the things that happen in your life, but
that’s just the first step.