Bell Mobility Palm Pre hits Canada August 27th
Palm and Bell Mobility have announced that the Pre smartphone will be available in Canada on August 27th, priced at CA$199.95 (US$187) with a three year contract. The CDMA handset is the same model as is already on sale in the US through carrier Sprint, and includes EVDO Rev.A, Bluetooth and WiFi, a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and multitouch-capable capacitive touchscreen.
Canadian buyers will also be expected to sign up to a data package, with a minimum of 500MB per month being required. Alternatively the Pre can be bought contract-free, though that will cost CA$599.95 (US$561), more expensive than the US version of the handset.
There are also a number of "smartphone bundles" on offer from the carrier, which may be more cost-effective for heavy users. Unlimited data in such plans starts from CA$45 per month.
Press Release:
Bell announces availability date for highly anticipated Palm PrePalm's revolutionary smartphone in stores August 27, available for
pre-order now
MISSISSAUGA, ON, Aug. 4 2009 — Bell today announced that the new
Palm(R) Pre(TM) phone will be exclusively available in Canada at Bell Mobility
retail locations on August 27. Due to unprecedented demand, Bell also
announced that Canadians can reserve one of the highly anticipated phones by
pre-ordering now at bell.ca/pre, at Bell stores or at selected Bell retail
partners.
Palm Pre is the first phone based on the new Palm webOS(TM) mobile
platform, which brings mobile applications together in a unique and intuitive
multi-tasking environment that is integrated with the most popular social
networking tools and powerful search functions.(1)
The Palm Pre will cost as little as $199.95 on a three-year contract or
$599.95 without a contract with a minimum 500 MB data plan. Bell smartphone
clients can choose from a wide variety of voice and data plans, including
Smartphone Combos that offer unlimited Internet browsing, personal email, text
messaging and Windows Live Messenger.
"We're very excited to bring the revolutionary Palm Pre and the Palm
webOS mobile platform to Canadians exclusively on Bell's national wireless
network – the largest high-speed 3G network in Canada," said Wade Oosterman,
President of Bell Mobility and Chief Brand Officer for Bell. "Considering the
highly successful US introduction of the Palm Pre by Sprint in June and
fast-growing Palm Pre buzz among Canadian mobile users, Bell and our retail
partners are preparing for high demand for this breakthrough phone."
Since announcing in May that it would carry the Palm Pre exclusively in
Canada, Bell has seen unprecedented demand – tens of thousands of Canadians
have already signed up at bell.ca/pre for more information about the device.
Beginning today, clients can now pre-order the phone at bell.ca/pre, at Bell
stores or at Bell retail partners Best Buy, Future Shop, The Telephone
Booth/La Cabine Téléphonique, WIRELESS etc. and Wireless Wave.
"Palm is creating a new measure of simplicity and usefulness that is
changing how people look at smartphones," said Katie Mitic, senior vice
president, Product Marketing, Palm, Inc. "It's a new experience to access and
connect the related but often decentralized information in your life, and
we're eager to share the Palm experience with Canada through Bell Mobility."
The Palm webOS platform takes multi-tasking to a new level. Customers
will love the ability to run multiple applications such as Internet, text
messaging, email and music at the same time, and move easily between them
using natural finger gestures. When they no longer need the item, they can
close an activity by simply flicking it off the top of the screen.(2)
The smooth, rounded ergonomic design makes Palm Pre a comfortable fit in
your hand or pocket. The physical keyboard that slides out from beneath a
large touch screen provides fast access to content on the device or web.
Palm webOS also features Palm Synergy(TM), which brings the users'
information from all the places it resides into one logical view so they don't
have to worry about tracking multiple calendars, contacts, email accounts and
messaging applications. The Synergy feature pulls information from a client's
Outlook(3), Google and Facebook accounts, including Facebook profile pictures,
into the contacts application – a compelling feature for the 85% of online
Canadians that have a Facebook account.
Palm's unique universal search allows customers to find what they need
easily – just slide open the keyboard, start typing to get instant results.
Results are pulled from the device apps, contacts and popular Internet sites
including Google, Google Maps, Wikipedia and Twitter.(4)
About Bell
Bell is Canada's largest communications company, providing consumers and
business with solutions to all their communications needs, including Bell
Mobility wireless, high-speed Bell Internet, Bell TV direct-to-home satellite
television, Bell Home phone local and long distance, and IP-broadband and
information and communications technology (ICT) services. Bell is proud to be
a Premier National Partner and the exclusive Telecommunications Partner to the
Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.
Bell is wholly owned by BCE Inc. (TSX, NYSE: BCE). For information on
Bell's products and services, please visit www.bell.ca. For
corporate
information on BCE, please visit www.bce.ca.
(1) Use of this device requires providing a valid email address, mobile
phone number, and related information for account setup and
activation. Data plan required. Within wireless coverage area only.
Number of applications and actual performance will vary depending on
applications used and actions performed.
(2) Within wireless coverage area only. Use of some third-party web
applications may impact performance.
(3) Within wireless coverage area only. Requires data services at
additional cost. Microsoft Direct Push Technology requires Microsoft
Exchange Server 2003 with SP2 or Exchange Server 2007. Additional
fees may apply.
(4) Searches web and user's applications, contacts, and dialing
information. Web search within wireless coverage area only, requires
data services at additional cost.
Palm, Pre, webOS and Synergy are among the trademarks or registered
trademarks owned by or licensed to Palm, Inc.
[via Palm Blog]