• July 7, 2009

After its much-ballyhooed U.S. launch last month, the Palm Pre will hit Europe later this year through exclusive deals with Telefonica's 02 and Movistar to sell the smartphone in Britain, Ireland, Germany and Spain.

Palm announced 02 would have exclusivity in Britain, Ireland and Germany, while Movistar would have exclusive rights in Spain. The company didn't say when other wireless operators would be able to offer the Pre.

In the U.S., Sprint has the initial exclusive deal to sell the $200 Pre, although Verizon Wireless has indicated that it will also begin offering the phone next year. Palm said the Pre broke Sprint's prior first-weekend sales record during the first weekend it hit store shelves. One Palm analyst estimated late last month that 150,000 of the devices had shipped since it went on sale June 6.

Palm said the Pre would be available in the specified European countries in time for the Christmas holidays. --Mark Walsh