HP Pre 3 heading to Orange

A support page for the HP Pre 3 has popped up on Orange's website, giving us reason to believe the fruity mobile-mongers will be flogging the webOS smart phone in the near future.

Recently we heard the Pre 3 would be hitting the UK before the end of August, but at the time there was no word on which networks would be pushing it. We've not heard from any other carriers, but anyone on Orange with an upgrade due should take note. It hasn't yet appeared on Orange's coming soon page, but it must only be a matter of time.

The support page, which was spotted by Pre blog Precentral, also has the Pre 3's specs posted for all to see too -- a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and a 3.6-inch touchscreen that sits above a slide-out keyboard. Oh, and a 1.2GHz processor to keep things running smoothly.

The Pre 3 is an interesting mobile. We first saw it back in February, which to our short-term progress-addled memory boxes feels like years ago. During our hands-on we were impressed by the Pre 3's intuitive webOS software, which we reckoned is as simple to use as Apple iOS platform, but as flexible as Google's Android.

Good stuff, right? And it supports Flash video in the browser. But of course, there's a downside. You might be having a great time jollying about with webOS, but you'll be all alone -- the platform isn't as popular as its rival operating systems, which will mean far fewer apps to play with than Android or iPhone.

HP's webOS tablet, the HP TouchPad, failed to impress, so if you invest in webOS you'll be in rare company.

Still, there's something to be said for going against the grain -- if you fancy boring your iPhone-toting mates with a lengthy diatribe on how they're all dull-eyed sheep, the Pre 3 could be the perfect mobile to tactically pull out of your pocket.

Are you excited? Or is the Pre 3 doomed to ignominious failure? Get a bit previous in the comments section below, or on our Facebook wall.