It looks like the rumours will indeed be confirmed true. According to the Guardian, o2 will be releasing the new Palm Pre by the end of the year. This means o2 outdid both Orange and Vodafone with this all-important exclusivity deal, which is surprising as Vodafone has a history with Palm, having been loyal to the Palm Treo Pro for the last few years.

The American system of mobile phone network exclusivity deals are becoming more popular in the UK over recent years – boosted by o2’s popularity with the Apple iPhone last year.

If the rumours are in fact true, that will mean o2 has it’s hands on the iPhone and Palm Pre, with the Palm launching before Christmas – can any other network compete with this? It could be that o2 are simply preparing themselves with another top-line handset, incase Apple end the exclusivity deal on iPhones in Europe – which is becoming more and more plausible. Only time will tell.