Palm set for European launch

Palm Inc.’s European plans for its Pre Plus and Pixi Plus devices received a date today as the company said French operator SFR would begin offering the company’s smartphones through SFR’s online store on April 27 and in its retail locations beginning May 11.
Palm had originally announced the SFR launch during the Consumer Electronic Show earlier this year. During the same event Palm announced the expansion of its devices beyond original carrier partner Sprint Nextel Corp. with plans to launch a version at Verizon Wireless. At the recent CTIA event, AT&T Mobility also said it would also begin offering the devices in the near future. With SFR announcing the first GSM-version of the device, the AT&T Mobility version should not be far behind.
The SFR version of the devices will include many of the “plus” features announced with the Verizon Wireless launch, including more onboard memory and the ability to act as a mobile hotspot. SFR claims more than 2 million Wi-Fi hotspot locations in France. SFR currently counts more than 14.8 million mobile subscribers and is a joint venture between Vivendi and Vodafone Group plc.
The move is another positive step for Palm, which over the past month has seen its star fade following the posting of disappointing quarterly results and more recently reports that it has hired investment bankers to look for a possible acquirer.
Palm’s stock has been on a rollercoaster of late with a run up following the sale report that was followed this week by a sharp decline as investors worried that a purchaser would not step forward.