Telstra and Vodafone are believed to have cut deals with Palm to launch their new Pre Smartphone in Australia later this year. However analysts in the US are tipping that that Palm who recently raised over $100M in borrowings could face legal action from Apple because of the similarity of the device to the Apple iPhone.
Telstra and Vodafone are believed to have cut deals with Palm to launch their new Pre Smartphone in Australia later this year. However analysts in the US are tipping that that Palm who recently raised over $100M in borrowings could face legal action from Apple because of the similarity of the device to the Apple iPhone.
At the recent CES show in Las Vegas where Palm first showed the Pre senior Telstra executives told ChannelNews and SmartHouse that they were keen to range the phone in Australia and that they thought it had "big potential" in the Australian market.
The new device which looks and operates very similar to the Apple iPhone will come with the same touch capability as the iPhone as well as a 3.1in touch-screen, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. The operating system is designed to interface to external cloud computing storage networks.
For Palm the Pre is the last throw of the dice and failure could see the Company placed into administration as they have been haemorrhaging losses for several quarters. The Company also failed to build on the installed base that they had for early Palm Smartphones and as a result of this say the experts several Companies such as Nokia, and HTC took share away from them.
It was previously thought that Vodafone had signed an exclusive agreement to offer the Pre in the UK, Australia and some European markets. But a spokesman said: "Vodafone is always talking to leading brands about new handsets. The Palm Pre is an interesting proposition, but that is all we are willing to say at this time."
[Originally posted at smarthouse.com.au]
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Telefonica in Palm Pre Talks - Looks to Rebrand
Spain's Telefonica has decided to consolidate its consumer brands around Movistar and O2 - retaining the Telefonica name purely for the corporate operations, reports the El Pais newspaper. The company already runs most of its mobile networks under the Movistar brands, but still has a few under the Telefonica name.
The company's Brazilian joint-venture, Vivo will also retain its current brandname, while O2 will be retained in the existing markets of UK, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
In other news, the firm is also reported to be close to securing the exclusive rights to the Palm Pre smartphone when it is launched in Spain, UK and Latin America. The Spanish newspaper, Expansion reports that the operator is expecting to have the handset "before summer". The news could be a blow for Vodafone which was recently rumoured to be seeking the exclusive rights for itself.
However, since the news report, Palm has tried to distance itself from the rumours, blaming a "misunderstanding". A spokesman for the company told Vnunet that he could not confirm when the Pre might be launched in the UK or which network carriers it would be available from.
Spain's Telefonica has decided to consolidate its consumer brands around Movistar and O2 - retaining the Telefonica name purely for the corporate operations, reports the El Pais newspaper. The company already runs most of its mobile networks under the Movistar brands, but still has a few under the Telefonica name.
The company's Brazilian joint-venture, Vivo will also retain its current brandname, while O2 will be retained in the existing markets of UK, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
In other news, the firm is also reported to be close to securing the exclusive rights to the Palm Pre smartphone when it is launched in Spain, UK and Latin America. The Spanish newspaper, Expansion reports that the operator is expecting to have the handset "before summer". The news could be a blow for Vodafone which was recently rumoured to be seeking the exclusive rights for itself.
However, since the news report, Palm has tried to distance itself from the rumours, blaming a "misunderstanding". A spokesman for the company told Vnunet that he could not confirm when the Pre might be launched in the UK or which network carriers it would be available from.
[Originally posted at cellular-news.com]
The company's Brazilian joint-venture, Vivo will also retain its current brandname, while O2 will be retained in the existing markets of UK, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
In other news, the firm is also reported to be close to securing the exclusive rights to the Palm Pre smartphone when it is launched in Spain, UK and Latin America. The Spanish newspaper, Expansion reports that the operator is expecting to have the handset "before summer". The news could be a blow for Vodafone which was recently rumoured to be seeking the exclusive rights for itself.
However, since the news report, Palm has tried to distance itself from the rumours, blaming a "misunderstanding". A spokesman for the company told Vnunet that he could not confirm when the Pre might be launched in the UK or which network carriers it would be available from.
Spain's Telefonica has decided to consolidate its consumer brands around Movistar and O2 - retaining the Telefonica name purely for the corporate operations, reports the El Pais newspaper. The company already runs most of its mobile networks under the Movistar brands, but still has a few under the Telefonica name.
The company's Brazilian joint-venture, Vivo will also retain its current brandname, while O2 will be retained in the existing markets of UK, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.
In other news, the firm is also reported to be close to securing the exclusive rights to the Palm Pre smartphone when it is launched in Spain, UK and Latin America. The Spanish newspaper, Expansion reports that the operator is expecting to have the handset "before summer". The news could be a blow for Vodafone which was recently rumoured to be seeking the exclusive rights for itself.
However, since the news report, Palm has tried to distance itself from the rumours, blaming a "misunderstanding". A spokesman for the company told Vnunet that he could not confirm when the Pre might be launched in the UK or which network carriers it would be available from.
[Originally posted at cellular-news.com]
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