Palm Pre, Wanted More than the iPhone in the UK

Sunnyvale-based mobile phone maker Palm already announced plans to launch its latest smartphone, the Palm Pre, on the European market, and most of you might already know that the device is set to be released on O2's airwaves in the UK on October 16, and it seems that the handset might become one of the most wanted mobile phones in the country.

According to a new survey from TNS, almost 26 percent of the UK mobile phone users would be interested in purchasing the Palm Pre. These people are either set to acquire the device from O2, or they are considering this option. The 26 percent of those interested in the Palm Pre outpaces the 16 percent interest the iPhone has seen in TNS’s 2007 survey.

The Apple iPhone, as many of you might already know, is the device that tops the charts when it comes to consumer satisfaction. However, it seems that the Palm Pre is expected to see a higher demand in the UK than the Apple handset saw. Moreover, the Palm Pre might register an increased traction from users in the UK when compared to the interest in the device US users showed when it became available for purchase in the country.

According to the TNS survey, 27 percent of O2's current customers are interested in purchasing the Palm Pre, a much higher number than the 17 percent of O2 customers who showed interest towards purchasing the iPhone when it first became available. In other words, Palm Pre might soon prove to be a much more popular device in the UK than it is in the US.

However, it seems that the high interest in the Pre might have been driven by its free availability on contract, compared to the £269 price tag the iPhone features upon the signing of a service agreement. Moreover, due to the fact that many O2 users are considering contract renewals, the Palm Pre would come to them for free this way. One way or the other, the Palm Pre seems set to gain a lot of market share in the UK.