14 DAY TRIAL // Recently, mobile phone carrier Verizon Wireless went official with plans to make available for purchase on its airwaves a new handset from HP, the Pre 2 smartphone, starting with February 17th.
The wireless operator announced that the new device would be put on sale via Verizon Wireless Communications Stores around the United States, as well as online on its website.
The Pre 2 arrives at Verizon with CDMA connectivity capabilities, while running under the HP webOS 2.0, and being capable of providing users with multitasking of e-mail, games, music and more.
The Pre 2 packs a 3.1-inch glass multi-touch screen that boasts a 320 x 480 resolution, beneath which it sports a slide-out physical QWERTY keyboard.
Powered by a TI OMAP 1GHz processor, complemented by 512MB of RAM, the smartphone should offer impressive performance capabilities to all users. The specifications list of the new device would also include a 5-megapixel photo snapper with LED flash, geo-tagging and video capture capabilities.
Moreover, the phone arrives on shelves at Big Red with Wi-Fi connectivity (802.11 b/g/), Bluetooth 2.1+ EDR with A2DP, and 3G Mobile Hotspot, as well as with built-in GPS receiver (VZ Navigator capable).
The Pre 2 from HP measures 2.34 x 0.66 x 3.96 inches and weighs in at 5.1 ounces. It also includes integrated IM, SMS and MMS features, as well as support for Microsoft Exchange e-mail, and for personal e-mail support (Google Gmail push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP).
The device includes Skype mobile, offering users the possibility to enjoy Skype-to-Skype calls and messaging while on the go.
Other features of the new mobile phone would include:
- 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.
Starting with February 17th, Verizon customers would be able to purchase the new webOS-based device for $149.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and upon the signing of a two-year contract agreement with the wireless carrier. Users would have to subscribe to a data plan to take full advantage of this phone's capabilities (unlimited data plans start at $29.99 at Verizon).