The unlocked version of this handset can be purchased here, it costs $449.99, which is pretty much standard price for any of today’s high-end smartphones.

If you would like to find out more about the Palm Pre 2 before forking out $450 you should check out our previous articles, such as the official specs and features, official photos, weight and dimensions and also the official Palm Pre 2 teaser video.

When the original Pre arrived in 2009 there was a lot of hype surrounding this device, however there doesn’t seem to be as much excitement regarding the Palm Pre 2, do you think it will become a popular smartphone?

Source: IntoMobile

As reported from Engadget, the news has surfaced from Pocket-Lint who has it on good authority that the Palm Pre 2 will be available to buy in the UK on November 12th – this coming Friday.

Furthermore, we’re also hearing that the Pre 2 won’t be tied down to a specific carrier, as it will be available to buy SIM-free – interesting as we thought O2 would be the guys who would offer this exclusively.

No sign of a release for US consumers though, as Palm has stated that it is still ‘coming soon’, according to Engadget. Let us know your thoughts on this. Don’t forget about Palm’s mysterious new devices that are rumored to be on the way.

Anyone getting a Pre 2?

We previously told you that 5 new Palm devices including the Pre 2 were on the way, but now BGR has acquired some additional information via Engadget about these devices.

If their report is to be believed, the codenames of the four other devices have been located inside webOS 2.0 and the device codenames are the Broadway, Windsor, Roadrunner and the Stingray.

Interestingly, there was also the following line of code which accompanied these names: “temporarily not restoring logs for newer devices.” So far, Palm has remained quiet about their unnamed devices, but we have a feeling one or two will leak out in the coming weeks.

What are your thoughts on these devices? Have you heard these codenames before or not?

OK, so we know that it is not a release date, but it is as good as. According to Dieter Bohn from Pre Central, the news was put up on HP’s Facebook page for students – so we know that this date is for real then?

Looking at that Facebook page we can see that there is also a Plus version; Bohn is not certain if this is a typo or if it relates to the Verizon version of the new handset? Then again, this could be the unlocked GSM model?

How do you think the Palm Pre 2 will perform in a market that is dominated by the iPhone and Android? Palm has already gone up against Apple and lost, and now that Android has become a much larger beast things do not look good – especially when you consider the specs in the Pre 2.

That is according to this article from BGR, who have obtained their information from The Taiwan Economic Times. If their info is true, it means that HP and Palm are about to hit the market with 5-6 new devices, one of which we already know about in the Palm Pre 2.

However, one of the devices mentioned is the PalmPad tablet, which is thought to be a direct competitor to the Apple iPad and BlackBerry Playbook – we’ve heard that before haven’t we?

Still though, a Palm tablet running webOS 2.0 would be a pretty nice alternative you have to agree, so we’re hoping that there is some truth to these claims.

We’ll keep you updated, what are your thoughts on a PalmPad tablet?

As reported from BGR, the Palm Pre 2 will now have HP’s shoulder to lean on in case anything goes wrong, and the new handset running webOS 2.0 is scheduled to arrive on the US market soon, since it’s already available in France.

The video gives you a brief look at some of the new features within webOS, while it also gives you a teaser of some of the applications available to download on webOS 2.0 – notably a certain addictive game called Angry Birds.

The Pre 2 hardware looks almost identical to the original Pre, so the focus will definitely be on whether webOS 2.0 can deliver or not. The jury is still out on that one, although this early review of the software is very promising.

Check out the video below and let us know your impressions of the Pre 2.

Let’s start with the dimensions and weight, according to HP Palm the Pre 2 measures in at 59.6mm x 100.7mm x 16.9mm and weighs just 145 grams, this makes it 0.1mm wider, 0.2mm longer and 00.5mm thicker than the original Pre, it is also 10 grams heavier.

Design is very similar too, considering it is bigger than its predecessor in every way the difference is barely noticeable, below we have embedded a photo of the Palm Pre 2 side-by side with the original Palm Pre, many do not think enough has changed, what do you think?

If you would like to see more official press photos of the Palm Pre 2 check out this link.

The Pre 2 features a 3.1-inch multitouch screen display and supports a resolution of 320 x 480, it also features a physical slide-out QWERTY keyboard, 16GB of storage, WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1 EDR, 3.5mm headphone jack, a microUSB port and mobile WiFi hotspot functionality for up to 5 connections.

The Pre 2 has a 5-megapixel camera with an LED flash, this camera supports video capture, geotagging and extended depth of field. There are a range of sensors which include an accelerometer, proximity sensor and ambient light sensor, there is also built-in GPS.

In terms of features it runs HP’s webOS platform, as you would expect it supports Microsoft Exchange email, POP3/IMAP email accounts, Direct Push support, you can find out more about the features here.

There is support for plenty of audio and video codecs, these include MP3, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+, AMR, QCELP and WAV. As for video codecs it supports MPEG-4, H.263, H.264.

If you would like to see the official spec breakdown check out the official Palm Pre 2 web page (below), I can’t help but think that the specs are a little disappointing, do you agree?

Source: Palm

According to this report from Droid-Life, they have been informed by one their sources, that Thursday 11th November will be the magical date when Verizon kick-off their holiday smartphone lineup.

The lineup is pretty strong too, as it features the likes of the Motorola Droid 2 Global / World Edition, the Droid Pro, the Motorola Citrus and also the recently announced HP / Palm Pre 2.

Furthermore, their report also states that the HTC Merge / Lexikon mentioned above could also be landing on the 11th – talk about spoilt for choice! Are you starting to regret committing to that long-term Verizon contract?

Let us know your thoughts on this.

That review comes to you courtesy of Engadget, who have given webOS 2.0 a glowing report. This may surprise one or two of you, but they have actually said that webOS is ‘probably neck and neck with iOS 4′, in terms of polishness and ease of use.

They have also stated that the OS from a general point of view is ‘incredibly fast’, adding that the performance of webOS 2.0 when switching between apps is very impressive.

The only big disadvantage they mention is that the Palm Pre hardware itself is not up to scratch, as they say its a shame that webOS 2.0 doesn’t have any high-level hardware to make use of.

Read the full review over at Engadget and let us know your thoughts on it. Are you considering buying a Palm Pre 2?