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Palm Pre Plus, Pixi Plus head to U.K.

U.K.-based wireless operator O2 will start offering the two smartphones on May 28.

Marguerite Reardon Former senior reporter
Marguerite Reardon started as a CNET News reporter in 2004, covering cellphone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate and the consolidation of the phone companies.
Marguerite Reardon

The Palm Pre Plus and Pixi Plus are heading to the United Kingdom.

Palm Pre Plus
Palm Pre Plus Palm

On Wednesday, Palm announced that U.K.-based O2 will offer the WebOS smartphones starting May 28. O2 already offers the original Palm Pre, so it's no surprise that the carrier would offer the upgraded version as well as the new version of the Pixi.

Each phone is available from O2 on an 18- or 24-month contract.

Palm has been milking its Pre and Pixi platforms for over a year now. The company introduced the original Palm Pre on Sprint Nextel's network in June 2009. And since the introduction of the Pixi, the company hasn't come out with new hardware.

Palm, which has struggled amid stiff smartphone competition, has been scooped up by Hewlett-Packard in a deal worth $1.2 billion. The sale is expected to be completed by the end of July. While it's clear that HP wanted Palm for its software, fans of the companies phones hope that HP will also invest in new hardware.

Palm's WebOS smartphones are available in the U.S. from carriers AT&T, Sprint Nextel, and Verizon Wireless.