palm

Bell's Palm Pre release date was a mistery up until now, but they've finally decided to announce it. The phone will be available starting August 27 for CAD $199.95 (about $187) on a 3-year deal, and up to $599.95 with a minimum 500MB / month data plan and no contract. Bell stores are now accepting preorders.

If you want a Palm Pre, you can now order one at Amazon. It is available for $199.99 on contract, or $499.99 outright, which is $50 cheaper than getting it directly from Sprint, and a great choice over Best Buy's $749.99 deal. What really sucks is the fact that you'll have to wait from 4 to 6 weeks before the phone arrives at your doorstep.

According to Verizon's latest announcement, thet'll start offering the desired Pre "early next year", right after the Sprint's exclusivity ends.

Palm has released a new update for its megapopular Pre. The new webOS 1.1.0. build "resolves an issue preventing media sync from working with latest version of iTunes (8.2.1)", and adds a number of new features. Here are soe of them, according to the source:

• Added NFL Mobile Live application for watching games and audio from the handset;
• Scrolling through long lists (like contacts) seems improved;
• Push email now seems to actively delete (and represent the count properly) in the background;
• Folder orders for IMAP Gmail accounts are now correct;
• The email alert sound is softer;
• App load times seem a bit snappier;
• There seems to be a new animation for the drop-down menus

In addition, PreCentral has an extensive list of undocumented features.

Just in case you've missed this, Sprint's Palm Pre smartphone is now available online for $199.99 after a 2-year contract and mail-in rebate.

A SprintUsers forums member has posted some information regarding an upcoming Palm Pre software update, which due to be out “on or near 7/22/09”. He said that he received the list of changes through an e-mail from Sprint.

According to that list, it seems the demo software currently installed on the Pre will de deleted after the update is applied. Moreover, Facebook users will be able to keep their friends synchronized with a PC.

A SprintUsers forums member has posted some information regarding an upcoming Palm Pre software update, which due to be out “on or near 7/22/09”. He said that he received the list of changes through an e-mail from Sprint.

According to that list, it seems the demo software currently installed on the Pre will de deleted after the update is applied. Moreover, Facebook users will be able to keep their friends synchronized with a PC.

A PreCentral forum member nicknamed Cleanser has managed to unlock his Palm Pre to support voice calls and SMS service on Verizon. Data network access is still unavailable, but he's working on it. It sure won't be easy, though. Cleanser said that the hardest part was getting someone to add his device's MEID to the system.

Either way, there's already one webOS device that works on a carrier other than Sprint.

Here's the first official press photo of the GSM Palm Pre. Now it's clear that Movistar will be selling the handset in Spain. We should note that Movistar, like O2 UK, is owned by Telefonica, which apparently got an exclusive right to offer the Pre in Europe.

According to The Guardian, the GSM Palm Pre will soon be available in the UK from O2. The official announcement is expected take place sometime next week. Stay tuned for more details.