France to get Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus first

Written on 4/22/2010 01:54:00 PM by poison_ivy

Looks like France will get the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus ahead of O2 and Vodafone Germany. According to Palm's latest press release, SFR in France will sell the WebOS mobile phones on their online store on April 27 while SFR's retail stores will get these handsets come May 11. That's one day ahead of the expected availability of the Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus in Germany which were previously pegged on April 28th. Full press release after the break.

PARIS, Apr 20, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- SFR and Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) today announced that the Palm(R) webOS(TM) platform will soon be available in France. Palm Pre(TM) Plus and Palm Pixi(TM) Plus phones will be available on April 27 on SFR's online store (www.sfr.fr) and on May 11 in all SFR stores and in retail.


"We are excited to bring the Palm webOS experience to France for the first time so SFR customers can benefit from the unique ability to use natural gestures to switch easily between multiple open applications and always stay up to date," said Jon Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief executive officer. "With the choice of the Pre Plus and Pixi Plus phones, customers across France can stay connected so they never miss a thing."


Frank Esser, SFR chairman and chief executive officer, said, "SFR is extremely proud to be the first operator to launch Palm webOS smartphones in France. This alliance comes within the scope of our strategy to provide the best user experience for mobile Internet and the widest range of smartphones to our customers."


With a slider keyboard, a larger touchscreen and a high-performance processor, Pre Plus is Palm's full-featured Palm webOS phone. It's designed for people who want an easy-to-use phone with advanced features to help manage the different aspects of their lives, both personal and professional. The keyboard makes for quick and easy typing, while the unique gesture area provides a sleek look and intuitive navigation. Customers also get 16GB(1) of storage (~15GB user available) for applications and media. Pre Plus comes with the Palm Touchstone(TM) Back Cover, so it's compatible out of the box with the revolutionary inductive Touchstone Charging Dock (sold separately).


As Palm's thinnest phone to date, Pixi Plus fits easily in your hand or pocket and offers a host of powerful features. With a touchscreen and full keyboard, it's great for social communicators and first-time smartphone buyers who want an affordable smartphone. With the color Palm Pixi Touchstone Back Covers and the Palm Pixi Artist Series Back Covers, which are compatible with the Touchstone Charging Dock, you can easily switch covers to suit your mood and style (all sold at www.palm.com/fr).


Both phones offer SFR customers greater flexibility for access to the Internet with Wi-Fi, and SFR Wi-Fi enables customers to use more than 2 million hotspots in France. In addition, the Palm mobile hotspot, a webOS app that can be downloaded from the Palm App Catalog, enables Pre Plus or Pixi Plus to act as a mobile Wi-Fi router.(2) Customers can share wireless Internet connectivity with up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices, such as notebooks, gaming devices and portable media players.


Pre Plus and Pixi Plus showcase the defining features of Palm webOS, including the ability to run multiple applications simultaneously and easily move between them; the power of Palm Synergy(TM), which brings customers' information from the many places it resides into a single, more comprehensive view; unobtrusive notifications; and universal search.(3) Palm webOS also has a unique model of over-the-air software updates that can deliver new features and performance improvements directly to a user's phone. Past updates have included support for 3D games and video recording, allowing webOS customers to use their phones in fun, new ways.


A significant advantage of Palm webOS applications is that they can be integrated into the core webOS experience, including linked contacts, layered calendars, notifications and GPS, providing a rich catalog of innovative and unique offerings for Palm webOS users. The growing Palm App Catalog offers some of the best apps in the market, such as rich 3D games like "Need for Speed(TM) Undercover." The Palm App Catalog for Europe allows end users to purchase applications using a credit or debit card.


Great SFR apps will also be available, such as "SFR TV," to access main TV channels in France on the phone; "SFR Wi-Fi"; and "SFR Mon Compte," which gives customers access to their SFR account while on the move.


Complete features and specifications for Palm Pre Plus and Palm Pixi Plus are available at www.palm.com.

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