More Canada Release Date Rumors Swirl
The longer we wait for Bell to release the Pre, the more rumors seem to pop up. Today's rumor seems to fall in line with what we've heard before, but at the same time is a bit unrealistic.
WebOS-France today is reporting (translation here) that Bell will be releasing the Pre on August 1st. The source of this information is reportedly one of the heads of Bell no less. An August 1st release date would fall in line, generally, with the 2 previous release date rumours of an end-of-July launch. Considering the credibility of the previous sources, this certainly seems good.
In addition, MobileSyrup is reporting that Bell stores now have in-store advertisements (as shown in the picture above). It's interesting that it says "Order yours today" when no price or date is given. However it does seems to imply Bell stores are now taking Pre orders.
Now while I and many other would like to believe we'll be seeing Bell launching the Pre on the 1st, it just seems unrealistic. It's just too soon. 3 days just doesn't seem like a practical timeframe to announce and then sell the Pre.
It'd be foolish to discount these rumors altogether, but keep in mind Bell's Pre contest doesn't even end until September 1st (with a drawing September 7th).
Thanks to everybody who sent this in!
Bell Holds The Pre With 6 Month Exclusivity?
Canada's Bell network may get a 6 month exclusive on the Palm Pre - starting when they actually are able to release the thing. MobileSyrup claims to have an internal document from Bell called The Bell Strategy:
The Palm Pre will expand and strengthen Bell’s smartphone category and will break new ground in the fiercely competitive smartphone market. Bell will be the second carrier worldwide (after Sprint) to sell the Palm Pre, with exclusivity for 6 months. Bell anticipates the Canadian market will strongly embrace this product with strong interest, which will boost overall smartphone sales.
If this document proves to be legitimate, and there's no reason to believe otherwise, then this puts the final nail in the coffin for the rumor that Telus would be releasing the Pre around same time as Bell.
On a more personal note, this is upsetting news for me. You see, I live in Manitoba, a province that Bell doesn't sell to. I'm now forced to investigate hacking the Pre to work on a different CDMA carrier or wait an additional 6 months (on top of however longer we have to wait for the Bell release date). Who knows, maybe we'll see a GSM version sooner rather than later.
Any other Canadians put in a bind because Bell isn't an option ...and neither is not getting a Pre as soon as possible?
