Mobile network operators O2 and Movistar, subsidiaries of Telefonica, will be Europe's first exclusive operators to carry the Palm Pre, the device maker announced today. O2 will offer the device In the UK, Ireland, and Germany, and Movistar will offer it in Spain, with availability some time before the holidays.
Rumors of a deal between Palm and Telefonica began to stir last week, with expectations of a price and launch date this week, but neither was supplied today.
O2 is also the exclusive carrier of the iPhone in the UK and Ireland, and Movistar is is the device's exclusive carrier in Spain, meaning that Germany is the only country in the EU thus far to offer the Apple iPhone 3G S and Palm Pre on separate networks. Of course this will change soon, as countries such as Italy and France offer the iPhone on more than one network, and Palm plans to sell the Pre through multiple networks like it has done with various Treo models.
Back in North America, the Pre is expected to debut in "the second half of 2009" on Bell Mobility in Canada. Pricing and availability there are also still unknown.
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