O2 lands Palm Pre exclusivity

All the news around Palm's anticipated rebirth has been coming from the US, with the Pre set to be launched in aggressive competition against Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference.

But news has been thin on the ground regarding the Pre's arrival in other territories. Initially, Vodafone was pegged to be the leading contender to deliver the closest competition the iPhone has seen so far, but according to The Guardian, it's O2 that landed itself another hot exclusive.

The deal comes at the ideal moment for O2, as Apple's exclusivity agreements in the major territories come to a close before too much longer, and the iPhone is opened up to other providers who will undoubtedly jump at the chance to supply their customers with the mobile phenomenon.

But the Pre is also likely to target a stronger commercial demographic, and could see a lot of valuable high-priced contracts taken out by large businesses to provide their remote staff with a feature rich, connected mobile office.

The Pre is going on sale in the US for the equivalent of around £130, attached to a two year contract. O2 has yet to release any details on the UK deal, but the Pre is expected to launch in time for Christmas.