O2 to sell Palm Pre in Ireland from October 16
Dublin, 24 September 2009 - The new Palm® Pre™ phone will be available in Ireland exclusively on the O2 network on 16 October. It will be available from all O2 outlets nationwide, including Carphone Warehouse. It will also be available to purchase online at www.o2.ie.
Palm Pre is the first phone based on the new Palm webOS™ software, which brings mobile applications together in a unique and intuitive multi-tasking platform that enables consumers and businesses to connect to their information in more useful and useable ways.(1) Palm webOS introduces Palm Synergy™, which brings your information from the many places it resides into a single, more comprehensive view of your life.
Palm Pre features a smooth, elegantly rounded ergonomic design and a physical keyboard that slides out only when needed. It's 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 optimised for email and text messaging. With its curved slider and gesture-controlled touch interface, Palm Pre fuses exquisite design with the revolutionary Palm webOS software for fast access to content on the device or web.
Commenting, Danuta Gray, CEO - Telefonica O2 Ireland, said, "O2 is delighted to be the exclusive carrier of the new Palm Pre in Ireland, which means our customers will be among the first outside North America to get their hands on the much anticipated new device. Our strategy continues to be to bring our customers the very best innovations in mobile communications, and with Palm Pre we are expanding our portfolio of market leading smartphones."
"There's a lot of excitement about Palm Pre in Europe as we continue to expand Palm webOS products across new carriers and countries," said Jon Rubinstein, chairman and chief executive officer, Palm, Inc. "We look forward to launching Palm Pre with O2 so people in Ireland can see firsthand how Palm webOS offers a new and better smartphone experience."
Palm Pre will be available on an 18-month contract for consumers. Pricing details are as follows:
| Price Plan* | 175 | 350 | 700 | Unlimited (calls and texts) | Unlimited (calls and landlines) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Rental | €45 | €65 | €100 | €40 | €40 |
| Device Price: Palm Pre 8GB |
€99 | €49 | Free | €99 | €99 |
| Anytime minutes | 175 | 350 | 700 | Unlimited O2 to O2 | Unlimited O2 to O2 & to landlines |
| SMS | 100 | 150 | 250 | Unlimited O2 to O2 | n/a |
| Data** | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB | 1GB |
| MMS | 10 | 15 | 25 | 10 | 10 |
| Choice of one free extra | n/a | 1. Unlimited texts to any network 2. Unlimited evening & weekend calls to any network 3. Unlimited landline calls at anytime in Ireland & UK 4. Free O2 to O2 calls |
n/a | n/a | |
* 18 month contract term
** Unlimited access to Bitbuzz wi-fi hotspots nationwide
The Palm Pre will also be available on prepay and will retail at €419. Prepay customers can sign up to O2 Experience, which offers unlimited free texts to any other Irish mobile network at any time. Internet browsing costs just 99c per day up to a daily limit of 50MB, while Wi-fi access through Bitbuzz hotspots nationwide is free for an initial period of 12 months.
Palm Pre for Business
Palm Pre running Palm webOS is a powerful business device, offering Palm Synergy features, multitasking capabilities, a full sliding keyboard, touch screen, robust messaging, GPS, and compatibility with 3G and secure Wi-Fi networks.
For business customers, Palm Pre will be available on O2's current range of business price plans. The device will be priced at €199 on the O2 Release Edge price plan, €199 on the O2 Flexi-Share price plan and will be free on the O2 Release price plan (prices are inc. VAT)
