Palm announces Pre launch dates Palm宣布Pre上市日期

The Palm Pre will go on sale on 6 June in the US and will only be available on the Sprint¹ network.

Palm Pre将于6月6日在美国上市，并且只有在Sprint网络上才买得到。

The Pre is widely seen as a rival to other popular smartphones

The much-anticipated handset will cost $199.99 (£129), after a rebate², and buyers must take out a two-year contract when signing up.

Palm said it expected the phone to be available nationwide at launch and has signed up four stores to put the gadget³（小机件） on their shelves.

No date has been given for when the handset will launch in the UK.

Data share

First announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January 2009, the Pre has generated a huge amount of interest largely thanks to Palm's long history in personal data devices.

The Pre impressed many with its operating system, which is geared towards working with the websites, such as social networks and e-mail services, people use when out and about.

The phone automatically recognises when owners connect to social or e-mail services and builds up a global list of contacts and login details as it is used.

Unlike many other phones, the handset also allows owners to have several different applications running at the same time.

The phone also has an innovative⁴ interface⁵ based around its touch screen and a "gesture area" below the display.

The phone will use Sprint's 3G network and buyers are recommended to take out an unlimited⁶ data plan as the phone swaps⁷ a lot of information back and forth⁸ as it is being used.

The phone is widely seen as a rival to other smartphones such as Apple's iPhone, Android handsets and RIM's Blackberry.

Also on sale at launch will be the wireless⁹ charging system. This will not be included in the basic bundle（捆，束） for the phone but will cost an additional $69.99 (£45) for the Touchstone dock（码头，船坞） and cover for the Pre.