Last week HP made the Pre 2 for Verizon available for pre-order, and today Big Red has finally gotten around to officially announcing the handset themselves. Launching on February 17th, the Pre 2 will be sold by Verizon for $149.99 with a two-year contract and $50 mail-in rebate, a whole $50 less than HP will be offering the handset for. Check out the full press release below.
While the Pre 2 is certainly a nice little device, it's kind of tough to recommend it with the Pre 3 looming. Verizon certainly isn't helping by pricing the handset at $150 with a two-year contract; HP's $100 price is much more palatable. Heck, if Big Red could knock the price to $50 or even free on contract, I've got a feeling that they could really move some webOS hardware.
Verizon Wireless’ Network To Include Next Generation Of Intuitive Multitasking Platform With Pre 2 From HP
Verizon Wireless Customers Have Fast, Fun Access to Work and Play on HP webOS 2.0
02/15/2011
BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon Wireless, the company with the largest and most reliable wireless voice and 3G data network, announced today that the Pre 2 smartphone by HP will be available in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com on Feb. 17. Pre 2 is the first device to run on HP webOS 2.0, allowing quick and easy multitasking of e-mail, games, music and more.
Key features:
3.1-inch glass multi-touch screen with a vibrant 24-bit color, 320 x 480 resolution HVGA display
Slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard
Support for Microsoft® Exchange e-mail, as well as personal e-mail support (Google Gmail™ push, Yahoo!®, POP3, IMAP)
Integrated IM, SMS and MMS
VZ Navigator® capable – Receive audible turn-by-turn directions to millions of points of interest and share the directions with others
TI OMAP 1GHz processor with 512 RAM
5-megapixel camera with LED flash, extended depth of field, geo-tagging and video capture
Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g/)
Bluetooth® wireless technology 2.1+ EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
3G Mobile Hotspot capability
Dimensions: 2.34 inches (w) x 0.66 inches (d) x 3.96 inches (h)
Weight: 5.1 ounces
Lifestyle features:
Contact Integration via HP Synergy – Customers can keep contacts and calendars up to date automatically with built-in integration for Facebook®, Google, LinkedIn®, Yahoo! and Microsoft Exchange.
Customized Inbox – Customers can view all of their accounts together or separately to access work e-mail alone or combined in a favorites folder with personal e-mail from places like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail.
Full HTML Browsing – Customers have access to full websites just like on their Macs or PCs. They can play video, upload photos, access online banking and much more. webOS also now integrates a beta of Adobe Flash Player 10.1 in the browser, which provides access to rich, Flash-based Web content.
With Just Type in webOS, customers can start an e-mail, create a message, update their status and search their favorite websites – all before they even open an app.
Mobile Music Store – Customers can buy and download music right from their webOS smartphones using the Amazon MP3 app when on a Wi-Fi hotspot.
Skype mobile™ – webOS 2.0 supports Skype-to-Skype calls and messaging while in the United States to anywhere in the world, and low-rate calls to international landlines and cell phones.
Pricing and availability:
Pre 2 will be available from Verizon Wireless for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in Verizon Wireless rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. Pre 2 customers will need to subscribe to a data plan. Unlimited data plans are available to customers starting at $29.99 monthly access. Customers will receive the rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted.
For additional information on Verizon Wireless products and services, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or go to www.verizonwireless.com.
