Right on cue the Palm Pre 2 has passed through the testing labs of the FCC, sporting fresh “this won’t boil your brains” certifications. The newly certified phones don’t come with any further surprises from what we already knew about the Pre 2 from all of the leaks and the announcements that came this morning, but it’s at least nice to see them making a courtesy stop for certification, opening the door to sales. Let’s just hope that this means the phones will become available sooner rather than later in the undefined “coming months” ahead.

For the record, the phones certified are the P102UNA (UMTS GSM, sporting AT&T-compatible 3G bands) and the P102EWW (EVDO CDMA for Verizon and Sprint). The GSM version will initially be available as the unlocked developer phone, while the CDMA phones will be available on Verizon. Unknown is whether or not the CDMA or GSM version will launch on the unspecified Canadian carrier, though if we had to guess we’d put our money on GSM (Bell and Telus are busy transitioning from CDMA to GSM, the last thing they want to do is launch a phone they’re working to be incompatible with).

Source: FCC (P102EWW, P102UNA); Via: Engadget; Thanks to Arthur on Twitter for the heads up!

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Just when it appeared that time was slipping away for a new webOS phone for this year, the FCC has given the green light to Palm’s P102EUE. The handset appears to be equipped with a physical QWERTY slider, a 1GHz processor under the hood and it is Touchstone compatible. Before those in the 50 states [...]

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Ever since it was revealed that the P102UEU had gone through the wireless certification battery of the FCC, PreCentral’s forum members and the fine folks at WebOS Internals have been digging through the documents to find more details about the phone. Here’s what’s been uncovered:

• The processor is clocked at 1GHz. Rod Whitby of WebOS Internals speculates that the processor may be the TI OMAP 3630 (1GHz, single core), which is software- and footprint-compatible (uses the same pins) with the TI OMAP 3430 in the current Pre. Additionally, Texas Instruments claims that the OMAP 3630 provides twice the performance as the older 3430, while sipping half the juice. Battery life gains, anyone?
• The phone comes with a 1150 mAh battery, exactly the same as the Pre and the Pixi.
• It is a slider device (as indicated by the SAR ratings for “open” and “closed”).
• There appears to have been some internal antenna juggling: on the current Pre design all the antennas are hidden behind the battery cover (they’re the yellow-orange strips around the edge of the inside). The documentation notes a difference in distance between the GSM antenna and the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi antenna when the phone is open and closed. Specifically, it’s a movement of 3.5 cm, which is almost exactly how far the current Pre opens.
• The phone is not only Touchstone compatible (no surprise), but is uses the same back currently available for the Pre and Pre Plus. This means that the phone will have a very similar, if not identical form factor, though we have heard unsubstantiated rumblings that there may be difference on the face of the device.
• Palm has requested 180 days of confidentiality from the submission to the FCC testing on September 8, 2010. Covered by the confidentiality granted: external, internal, and testing photos and the user manual. Shucks. One hundred eighty days gives Palm confidentiality until March 7, 2011, though we would expect to see this device on shelves and in hands sooner rather than later.
• As this is FCC testing, the P102UEU is certified to not boil your brains.

With all this we can all but assume that this is going to be called the Palm Pre 2, in fact we’d be willing to bet money on it if we weren’t squirreling it away in anticipation of off-contract purchasing.

UPDATE: As many have pointed out, the FCC label reads 08F-ROAY. The original Pre was the 08F-CASC, as in the "Castle," so it stands to reason that this may be the Roadrunner device we saw pop up in August.

Source: FCC; Via: PreCentral Forums, WebOS Internals on Twitter

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The Palm P102UEU, presumed to be the Palm Pre 2 (or Palm Pre Double Plus) has cropped up in the FCC databases, as noted by the fine chaps at Engadget. P102, as you may recall, is the model type (the Pre was the P100, and Pre Plus P101), so presumably the P102 is the next generation Pre. UEU has been determined through similar deductive reasoning to be the UMTS 3G GSM variant of the phone, however historically there have been two batches of GSM webOS devices: the UNA (UMTS for North America) and the UEU (UMTS for Europe). Strange that the UEU is getting FCC clearance while the EWW and UNA were cleared by German certification firm TÜVRheinland. Either way, FCC clearance is one of those last formalities before these devices head into the hands of users, so maybe we’re not that far from announcement time.

UPDATE: Some super-sleuthing into the FCC docs has revealed some specs and some interesting observations – check it out here.

Source: FCC; Via: Engadget

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Even though the words “coming months” attached to the Palm Pre Plus & Pixi Plus models for AT&T might indicate a time frame from now to something like six months down the road, the latter of the two devices might already have a head start. There was a Palm label with the model P121UNA seen [...]

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The O8F-PIXUW has popped up at the FCC, aka the P121UNA, aka a GSM Palm Pixi Pixi with North American radio bands, aka the forthcoming Palm Pixi Plus on AT&T. 

Oh, FCC code names aren’t interesting? How about this, with previous releases we’ve been fond of what we’re calling the ToniCipriani method of reading the tea leaves for devices releases. His (and our) preferred tea leaf? Checking the "Request for Confidentiality" document to see when Palm tells the FCC it’s OK to drop the goods. Looks like Palm has wised up to that, however, as they’ve switched up their letter to say they want the details held "indefinitely."

In other words: "coming months" combined with armchair speculation about Palm’s very low 4th quarter revenue predictions are all we have to go on when it comes to guessing the release date for this little guy.

via Engadget, thanks to Mannyman for the tip!

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Our man ToniCipriani (of the PreCentral forums, not Grand Theft Auto fame) is a sleuth of the FCC variety. Digging through the files for manufacturer O8F, known around these parts as Palm, Inc, ToniCipriani found that for each released webOS phone the external public photos availability date matched up almost perfectly with the launch date. And then he found a model with the FCC ID of O8F-CASG, with a photo availability date of May 10th, 2010.

What could this be? Considering that both the Sprint Palm Pre and Verizon Pre Plus sport the FCC ID number of O8F-CASC, we’re wagering that the O8F-CASG is the US-bound GSM version of the Pre. We’ve known for a while that the Pre’s internal codename was Castle, and when combined with a CDMA phone we get CASC, whereas GSM would lead us to CASG.

It’s a distinct possibility that we’ll see the AT&T Pre on or around May 10th; the photo availability date for the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus was dead-on with the launch date. Being that we’re not the betting type (we prefer to just throw stuff out there are see what sticks), we’d merely say that sometimes in May is looking like a good timeframe. And that lines up pretty well with AT&T CEO Ralph de la Vega’s “first half of 2010” for webOS on his network.

Thanks to Norris for the tip!

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Both Verizon and AT&T have recently dropped the price of their unlimited voice plans from $100 to $70 a month. While we (we being the tech media) generally assumed that the price cuts were an attempt to lure more customers. We tend to forget a few days after their conference calls that the #1 and #2 US cellular networks are having no trouble picking up and retaining new customers, even with their rates considerably higher than #3 Sprint and #4 T-Mobile (T-Mobile is at least still gaining subscribers, unlike Sprint). So why the price cuts?

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Engadget has found a Palm model number on the WiFi Certification Database quite similar to a number we’ve seen before, the Palm P101EWW. Previously we’ve seen the P101VZW pop up in Verizon inventory screens, and judging by the number used here (and the fact that they call it the Pre), we’re tempted to call this the previously rumored Pre Plus.

Is it the Verizon Pre? We’d love to think so. Oh, and let us not forget the P121EWW that was found a few weeks ago – that’s the Pixi on Verizon, complete with WiFi.

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When the Pixi was first released on Sprint, one of the big drawbacks when compared to the Pre was lack of WiFi. Evidence from the FCC suggests that those wanting a WiFi’d Pixi may be in luck very soon.
A CDMA Palm Pixi has been tested for 802.11b/g WiFi by the FCC and given Verizon’s gearing up [...]

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