Last week we heard that we won’t get the Palm Pre at Verizon. Now the Examiner says that Verizon may be carrying an updated version of the Pre: one that has more memory (or a micro-sd slot), has a slightly bigger screen, and one that fixes the screen bleed problem.
Great news!

PalmPre · Verizon

At least that is the consensus today:

Boy Genius: “We’ve just confirmed this with one of our ninjas: the rumor of Verizon Wireless passing on adding the Palm Pre to its line-up is totally and 100% bogus”
ecommercetimes: Despite reports that Verizon and Palm are bickering over a contract that would give the carrier rights to offer the Pre smartphone, Verizon maintains that the Pre will appear on its shelves in January, as planned.

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ZDnet reports that analysts today are shaking their heads at a report by TheStreet.com that basically said Verizon had decided against a launch of the Palm Pre next year. One analyst, Deutsche Bank’s Jonathon Goldberg, went so far as to call it “off-base.”

Simply, Palm yesterday reiterated its full year guidance, a gesture that Wall Street has interpreted as meaning a Verizon launch will still happen. TheStreet.com’s report cited “people close to the discussions.” The report also noted that Verizon may order a small number of Pres but not offer any marketing support for them.

Read the full story at ZDnet reports

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• Mystery Palms show up in Sprint’s inventory (mobilecrunch.com)

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Palm Inc., maker of the Pre smart phone, reiterated its plan to work with additional wireless carriers in the second half of fiscal 2010.

The announcement came after TheStreet.com reported that Verizon Wireless scrapped plans to sell the Pre, sending Palm shares down 4.7 percent yesterday. Derick Mains, a spokesman for Palm, declined to say if the statement was in response to the report, saying Palm doesn’t comment on rumor or speculation.

Palm, which currently offers the Pre exclusively through Sprint Nextel Corp., said last week that it would distribute its devices through other carriers in the second half, without saying which ones. Verizon, the biggest U.S. wireless carrier, had said in May that it planned to offer the Pre after Sprint’s exclusive contract ends.

TheStreet.com, citing unidentified people close to the talks, said yesterday that Verizon abandoned a plan to offer the Pre in January because the phone hasn’t become a blockbuster seller. Jim Gerace, a spokesman for Verizon, declined to comment.

[source: Bloomberg]

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The Street reports that the Pre, Palm‘s premier touch-screen smartphone, which has been an exclusive offering this year at Sprint, had been scheduled to arrive at Verizon in January. But people close to the discussions say Verizon has decided not to support the Pre.
The move would be a dramatic setback for the up-from-the-ashes Palm story. The company desperately needs to secure more telco partners to sell its flagship phone. In addition to Sprint, Palm has named only Bell Mobility in Canada and Telefonica’s O2 units in the U.K. and Germany as its exclusive partners

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Verizon

Sign the petition to ask Verizon Wireless to bring the Pre.

PalmPre · Verizon

Wired has an interesting story about why you can’t get a good phone with Verizon. Here is some quotes:
Verizon’s extremely conservative approach to new handsets, the company’s long and rigorous testing procedures and its emphasis on the network rather than the phone has created a portfolio that’s a complete buzz kill, say experts.

“Verizon doesn’t have too many options,” says Michael Mace, a former executive with Palm and Apple who runs a strategy and marketing consulting firm called Rubicon Consulting. “They can’t get the iPhone right now and they can’t take Nokia devices and start promoting them. All they can do all they can do is push the BlackBerry as hard as they can and hope for a new Motorola phone.” (Nokia largely makes GSM phones, which won’t work on Verizon’s CDMA network, though the Finnish phone manufacturer has created a select few devices to run on the Verizon network.)

Not surprisingly, Verizon spokesperson Brenda Raney says the carrier would rather focus on its network than on the gadgets that use it.

“Keep in mind that for Verizon Wireless, it isn’t so much about the device as it is about the delivery,” she says. “We have the nation’s largest 3G network so when we offer devices on our network, customers can be assured that they will deliver as promised.”

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A leaked Verizon Wireless data sheet, outlining its upcoming smartphone and mobile phone roster, hit the Web this week, offering insight into release dates for some long-awaited smartphones, including the BlackBerry Storm 2, the BlackBerry Curve 2 and the Google Android-based Motorola Sholes, among others.

The Verizon Wireless road map curiously leaves out the Verizon version of the Palm Pre, which Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam said would be available via Verizon by the end of the year. In a May Webcast, McAdam said the Palm Pre and another device from Palm, along with the BlackBerry Storm 2, would reach Verizon’s network within six months.

[source: crn.com]

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The Best Mobile Phone blog reports that Verizon is working hard to add the Palm Pre to their lineup this year. We can’t wait!

Palm · PalmPre · Verizon