O2 confirms Pre exclusive, and also gets Toshiba TG01
Published: 3 July, 2009
READ MORE: O2
Having been accused of over-dependence on its iPhone exclusive, with a limited focus on other smartphones, O2 UK is swinging the other way and preparing a barrage of high profile launches. Its exclusive for the Palm Pre has been confirmed, and it is also set to launch the Toshiba TG01 in the UK and Germany next week with a six-month exclusive.
As expected, Palm will announce on Tuesday that Telefonica will bring the Pre to its European territories under its O2 and Movistar brands, mainly in the UK, Ireland and Spain. The sudden rush to offer high end alternatives suggests that the UK arm is, indeed, bracing itself to lose its iPhone exclusive next year this is the operator that has passed on several major smartphones, such as the Nokia N97, for fear of diluting its sales of the Apple device.
The Pre is set to ship in Europe in August and Telefonica is understood also to be negotiating terms to launch a version across its extensive Latin American territories. The handset is likely to be positioned and priced similarly to the iPhone, though O2 will be trying to differentiate the offerings in order to attract additional new users, especially customers from other carriers that have not yet been lured by the iPhone. The Pre could have a more difficult time in Europe than the US, and Palm will be looking to heavy marketing and subsidies from O2, even though the carrier's budget for these activities is said to be depleted from its iPhone pushes. The problem for Pre is that it is a relatively expensive device for the cellco, but has fewer features than, for instance, the N97 or LG Arena, so it will need to be promoted well around its software experience and apps. Gerard Hallaren, of equity analysts JRPG, estimates that O2 will sell about 65,000 units a month in the UK during its exclusivity period.
As for the TG01, this is the first smartphone running on Qualcomm's Snapdragon processor and is really an early example of the hybrid tablet-style smartbook/phones that are expected to become a mainstream form factor next year, with developments from Nokia/Intel and others. It has a very fast processor, like the new Samsung Jet (actually, at 1GHz to the Jet's 800MHz, the TG01 beats the Korean phone, but these superfast gadgets to have trade-offs in terms of battery life). The Toshiba product is already on sale in Germany and Japan and will come to the UK on July 9.
More TELEFONICA O2 EUROPE News
More HANDSET News
More LTE News
COMMENTS
Carrier Broadband Performance: Africa & Middle East
Carriers are using mobile broadband as their weapon of choice in the fight against the commoditization of voice and falling ARPU. This...
Voice over LTE: Market Analysis and Forecasts
VoLTE offer unique advantages in lowering a carrier's voice infrastructure economics and promises to improve voice quality, device...
Satellite Phones: Will Dual Mode Help the Phoenix Rise from the Ashes?
Satellite phones have followed an arduous path since their much-hyped launch more than a decade ago. The hype was followed by an e...
