Palm today told the UK press that it will hold an event July 7th regarding the Pre. The company stops short of confirming it as a launch event, but it's commonly assumed by Pocket-lint and others that the gathering next week will provide details of Pre with GSM and HSPA-based 3G and will likely include a release window as well as details of which carriers will sell the smartphone. Pricing is also a possibility.
Which carriers are likely to support the Pre isn't known but has been rumored to involve an O2 exclusive rather than multiple networks. The move would place O2 in the unusual position of selling both the iPhone and Pre at the same time and challenges competitors like Orange, T-Mobile and Vodafone, which each have their own exclusives but only on a smaller scale.
Confirming a first European launch could significantly improve Palm's competitive stance. Although demand for the Pre is relatively small compared to the iPhone and may have involved just 300,000 units for all of June, the company has so far been limited to a single carrier in the US and is estimated to push that to as much as one million a month with significant European releases.
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