The rumours were right: Telefonica has signed a deal with Palm to sell the Pre smartphone as an exclusive in the UK through its O2 subsidiary.

However, Telefonica has also bagged an exclusive on the hotly-tipped smartphone in Ireland, Spain and Germany. It will go on sale in all four markets before Christmas.

"We are fast becoming the home of the smartphone with the addition of the hotly-anticipated Palm Pre to our already extensive portfolio," says Matthew Key, chairman and CEO of Telefonica Europe.

"Our customers will be the first outside of North America to experience one of the most successful mobile devices of the year."

An exact launch date hasn't been announced, but consumers are being invited to register online to be notified when it's revealed (the links are UK & Ireland, Spain and Germany).

The Pre has generated big buzz in the US before and since its launch there with Sprint last month.

However, Palm has been criticised for its sluggishness in getting the webOS SDK required to make apps and games for the device into the hands of developers.

Hopefully by the time it comes out in Europe, that will have been rectified, and there'll be a few more mobile games available for it.