14 DAY TRIAL // After slashing the Pre 2 price to $29.99 nearly one month ago, HP Wireless Central is now offering the smartphone for free, but customers will have to sign a new two-year Verizon agreement.
One of the last 100% Palm smartphones launched on the market, Palm Pre 2 is nearing end of life status, especially that HP, the company that bought Palm, has already announced its successor, the Pre 3, at the 2011 Mobile World Congress, in Barcelona.
Verizon's offer is not the only one available in North America, as Canadians can also take advantage of a similar offer from Rogers who is giving the phone for free after a special $100 discount and a 3-year contract.
Palm Pre 2 runs on the webOS 2.0 mobile platform and it is unclear if it will be updated further in the future.
The phone features a slider form factor and comes with a full QWERTY keyboard, as well as a 3.1-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with 16 million colors support and 320 x 480 pixels resolution.
Its successor, the Pre 3, is expected to be released in Q2 2011, and comes with a slightly larger 3.58-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with a better 480 x 800 pixels resolution.
While the Pre 2 is powered by a single 1 GHz processor, the HP Pre 3 boasts a much better 1.4 GHz Scorpion processor, which is complemented by an Adreno 205 GPU.
Potential customers who wish to purchase a Palm/HP smartphone and opt for the Pre 2 should have second thoughts, as HP Pre 3 is already in the pipeline and expected to be available in Q2 2011.
Still, those who hesitate to give the Pre 2 a try should know that the smartphone is retailed along with four extra accessories, which are granted for free: Touchstone charging dock, vehicle power charger, power adapter and Palm Pre side case.
