We’re pumped to see the Palm Pre 2 made available in the United Kingdom in a delicious unlocked flavor, but that’s only from Palm. Even in GSM-friendly unlocked-happy Europe, most customers still get their phones direct from the carrier, complete with hefty subsidizations. The carrier is where you won’t be able to get the Palm Pre 2 in England, Scotland, Wales, or anywhere else in the British Isles. Pocket-lint has confirmed with UK cellular carriers Orange, Three, Vodafone, and O2 that none of them have plans to carry the Palm Pre 2. We can’t say we’re stunned – support for the phone from carriers has been weak at best. In fact, the only announced carriers are Verizon and SFR, and they were known at launch. Here’s hoping their all holding out for something new, maybe in January…

Source: Pocket-lint; Thanks to Ben for the tip!

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We were a little concerned that Jon Rubinstein’s promise that Palm would ship webOS 2.0 this year would be fulfilled not by sending out the update to current devices but instead by shipping the Palm Pre 2 on SFR. Thankfully, that concern looks to be allayed – at least in the UK. A tipster sent in the above internal screenshot pegging December 6th as the planned rollout date for webOS 2.0 for the Pre, Pre Plus, and Pixi Plus on O2 UK. 

Lately, European carriers have seemed to be a little more aggressive in pushing out webOS updates than they US brethren, so we can’t assume that we’ll see the update hit these shores in the same period. But hope springs eternal. 

Thanks AnonGuru!

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If you’re a German who for whatever reason has been waiting to jump onto the Palm bandwagon, O2 Deutschland is doing their best to make sure you can get one for cheap. They’ve cut the price of the Palm Pre Plus down to 360€, while the Pixi Plus and the original Pre (with a Touchstone charger and back) can be had for 240€.

Now you might be thinking those are high prices, but we’ll take a moment to remind you why O2 Germany’s system is the one that we envy so hard: these phones can all be had for free upfront: You’ll pay 10€ a month over 24 months for the Pre or Pixi Plus, while the Pre Plus will cost you 15€ monthly. Yes, you pay precisely for the subsidization of your specific phone, and once you’ve paid it off, you’re done. It’s a clean and transparent model that we seriously long for. Oh, and all of these phones are sold unlocked. How’s that for awesome?

Additionally, we’ve been tipped that O2 Germany has received its last shipment of Pre Plus phones. This lines up neatly with the ceasing of Pre Plus sales at SFR and O2 UK. Europe, it would seem, is clearing way for the Palm Pre 2. We can only hope that the same is happening back here across the pond.

Source: O2 Germany; Thanks to Valentin and John for the tips!

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As best as we can see, there aren’t a whole lot of reasons not to buy yourself a smartphone, especially one running webOS. Maybe we’re a little bit biased, but that’s just how we see things. And seeing how prices seem to keep falling on Palm’s current offerings, the list of reasons why not to just keeps getting shorter.

Of course, we can empathize with those who don’t want to get tied into a long-term contract. Fortunately, if you are in the UK and have been tempted by the Palm Pixi Plus, you can scratch contractual obligation off the list. O2 UK now is offering the Pixi Plus will on Pay & Go for a mere £109.99 upfront. So you can now get your teeth into the remarkably tasty webOS pie (mmmmm…) without having to worry about any monthly fees. Not only that, but O2 will throw in a limited edition Artist Series battery cover (worth £29.99) for free.

If Pay & Go is not your style, then fear not, the Pixi Plus is now free on £25 a month contracts with it’s big brother, the Pre Plus available for free on a £35 a month contract.

In true O2 UK style, they haven’t publicized this new offer very well, with no mention of it on their website, even though it was supposed to be available online from today, but it has appeared on a number of sites including the Palm UK Facebook page, so you can either pop down to your local O2 store or wait a few days for it to appear on their online store.

Source: Palm UK on Facebook

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An anonymous tipster let us know yesterday that O2 UK would be pulling the Pre Plus from stores and cease selling the phone. Sure enough, several people have emailed us today noting that O2 UK’s website no longer offers the Pre Plus, although the Pixi Plus is still available.

We don’t know if this is a temporary thing, the end of the Pre on O2 UK, or preparation for that Palm Pre 2, the P102UEU we saw pass the FCC. We’d like to think it’s the latter, of course, because even though most of our readers aren’t super-pumped about a minorly-spec-bumped, 1GHz Pre Plus, it is certainly better than nothing.

Update: Pierre notes that SFR France also is no longer offering the Palm Pre Plus on their website, though they are still in stores. This is looking more and more like the P102UEU is coming sooner rather than later. Thanks Pierre!

Thanks Anonymous and everybody who sent in the tip on the site!

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Gizmodo points out that O2 UK has started publishing ‘ecoratings’ for many of their phones (but not, notably, BlackBerrys or the iPhone). Sadly, on their scale of 1 to 5, the Palm Pre Plus clocks in at the bottom with a lowly 2.7. O2 takes in a number of factors in determining their rating, from packaging to materials to supply chain issues to the manufacturer’s ’social inclusion and community.’

As we said, we can’t see how the Pre Plus stacks up against the iPhone or BlackBerry devices, but seeing it score so poorly compared to HTC, Sony Ericsson, and Samsung is a little disheartening. 

Would a ‘Ecorating’ factor into your next smartphone purchase?

Source: O2 UK; via Gizmodo; Thanks to everybody who sent this in!

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It was bound to happen eventually, and we’re somewhat surprised it took this long. O2 Germany has confirmed to PreCentral forum member rot that the original Palm Pre has been declared end-of-life (EOL) on the network. With the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus also available on O2 Germany, the EOLing of the older Pre was to be expected.

According to rot, while O2 will continue to replenish their supply of Plus devices, they have no intention of ordering any more original GSM Pre after their current stockpile runs dry. So, if for whatever reason you still want one, you can get one. And it’s sold as a bundle with a Touchstone back and charger (the Plus comes with a Touchstone back standard) for 240€, the same price as the Pixi Plus, while the O2 Germany Pre Plus will hit your wallet to the tune of 361€. O2 Germany is following in the footsteps of O2 UK, who quietly stopped selling their original Pre without our even noticing.

Now: wouldn’t it be nice if Sprint could get caught up with the rest of the world and get some Plus action?

Thanks to rot in the forums for the heads up!

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While the prediction in our forums hasn’t panned out, webOS 1.4.5 is still really real and now on its second carrier – O2 UK is getting it now a couple of weeks after O2 Germany made the cut. Go hit the update app if you’re on that network, but first check the list of patches that don’t play nice with updates.

One last note, turns out that while the main gist of webOS 1.4.5 is to expand the number PDK gaming apps (and to bring them to the Pixi), there is a bug where some games aren’t able to correctly run or save their data due to what boils down to a permissions issue – details here on Palm’s developer forums. If you’re having an issue with the game (and aren’t a hacker), the best fix is to do a full webOS doctor (once the 1.4.5 doctor becomes available, natch).

Update: we’re hearing it’s hit other carriers in Europe and should be on Bell in Canada as well. Chime in on the comments how it’s working for you!

Sprint, Verizon, AT&T, and other carriers standing by patiently.

Thanks to everybody who sent this in!

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Our English friends can finally jump onto the Plus bandwagon, as the chaps at Engadget have noted. The Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus are officially available on O2 UK, even through their website. That’s assuming you weren’t lucky enough to grab one a day early. Interested customers can snag both phones for free depending on the tariff (plan) you select. The Pixi Plus can be had for free with any plan, with plans starting at £30.00 a month for 100 minutes and unlimited text and data. That same plan will get you a Pre Plus for £99.00, if you want it free you’ll have to spring for the 600 minute £40.00 a month plan. Sweet, eh?

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The Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus are set to launch in on O2 in the UK tomorrow, but Murray just let us know that his local O2 store has them out on the floor and available for sale today, along with the above in-store photo of the Pixi Plus. If you’ve got a hankering for some new and improved webOS action, it might be worth a quick call to your local shop to see if they’ve jumped the gun as well.

Thanks, Murray!

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