The UK's largest carrier, O2, pulled quite a coup landing exclusive rights to Palm's rebirth in the Pre, to go on its roster alongside the iPhone.

The handset has performed well in the US, and rumours have been circling for a while over a UK release date; with most expecting the WebOS equipped device to become available on October 30th.

O2 today announced that the Pre will be available considerably earlier, giving it a launch date of October 16th. It also revealed it will once again be partnering with the Carphone Warehouse to get the Pre out there, and will this time be including Phones4U in the deal.

"There’s a lot of excitement about Palm Pre in Europe as we continue to expand Palm webOS products across new carriers and countries," says Palm chairman and chief executive officer Jon Rubinstein. "We look forward to launching Palm Pre with O2 so people in the UK can see firsthand how Palm webOS offers a new and better smartphone experience."

Tarrifs will begin at £29.38 per month with unlimited data and access to O2's nationwide wi-fi network, though minutes and text messages are quite limited on the lowest 18-month contract, and the device will still carry a £96.89 price tag. Still, this is at least competitive with an iPhone contract, and the extra smartphone choice will be a welcome string to O2's bow.