HP's closing-down sale continues. Yesterday UK retailers dropped the price of its discontinued TouchPad tablet to just £89, and now it's done the same with its forthcoming Pre 3 smart phone, slashing £250 off the RRP and selling it for a bargainous £49 SIM-free. Everything must go!
The price cut will apply to the whole of Europe, according to the Telegraph, though retailers are yet to confirm this. We've asked Carphone Warehouse, Amazon, Play.com and HP, and are waiting to hear back -- we'll bring you their response as soon as we can. At the moment it's listed at full price for an early September release on Amazon, Play.com and Carphone Warehouse. The Pre 3 won't go on sale in the US.
The price cut certainly makes sense, with the Pre 3 running the same webOS software as the TouchPad -- HP announced it would stop making webOS devices at the end of last week. It brings the phone into the same price bracket as the budget Android devices aimed at teenagers that do social networking but very little else. (That's the phones, not the teenagers.)
The Pre 3 has a slideout Qwerty keyboard, runs the aforementioned webOS software, and is powered by a 1.4GHz processor, though it is only single-core. It's a big beast, no mistake, as you'll see in our hands-on video, with a 3.6-inch screen, but at this price it seems an absolute steal. And it could see the kind of uptake that would get developers keen to do something about the paucity of apps available, even if there's no more hardware forthcoming.
So, would you buy a Pre 3 for £49? Let us know on our Facebook page or in the comments section below.
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Comments 42
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Mat Greenfield 23 August, 2011 15:59
After the bulls*** I had with the Palm Pre 1, if it isn't less than £15 I'm simply not interested.
anonymous 23 August, 2011 16:04
theyve sold out of touchpads everywhere they dropped the price. amazon and lot of others other that carphone warehouse and dixons still have it at full price.
i want a touch pad and frick, why not even a pre3! haha
Andyt95 23 August, 2011 16:25
If I don't get a TouchPad....
I WILL GET SOMETHING OUT OF HP!
Callum AppleMan IMazing Willis 23 August, 2011 16:49
Need one to go with my touchpad! A phone and a tablet for £139- Bargain!
anonymous 23 August, 2011 19:17
Really want one of these. Have wanted one since February. Missed out on the touchpad so WILL get one of these.
anonymous 23 August, 2011 19:45
Yes I will buy one in fact I would buy 2. This is the price of a budget phone and
It got 10x the features.
scottiefess21 23 August, 2011 21:53
I will definitely get one if I can... maybe trade in my galaxy s...........
anonymous 23 August, 2011 23:12
You could connect your POS ipad wannabee to your hddvd drive, minidisc player and Betamax video recorder. Buy either of these and put up with a month of ridicule from everyone until the devices become totally worthless.
anonymous 24 August, 2011 00:38
I bought my Pre 2 in about June this year and i love the phone. Compared to other operating systems i've used on a phone I thought webOS had loads of potential to be the rival to iOS.
Its touch screen is fantastic and there is no home button like iphone!
A brilliant phone and sad to see webOS being discontinued, I'd personally say if i can get my hands on a Pre 3 for £50 i will buy more than 1 without a doubt!
As at £50 it will sell out as fast as the touchpad will.
anonymous 24 August, 2011 07:40
I too have been wanting one of these. Most online stores I use are not even stocking it. I would like to know if anyone knows who is stocking so I can buy one when the price drops
mikelao 24 August, 2011 09:30
I am a guy living in Italy, forgive me for my bad English :)
I would buy hp pre 3 but currently this is impossible in Italy
is possible buy this phone on this site?
CCasper 24 August, 2011 10:14
Where can we buy this in the UK? I can't find it online anywhere and I don't think anywhere near me has it..
anonymous 24 August, 2011 12:03
We probably will be able to buy it in next week,at least Palm store says so.
anonymous 24 August, 2011 14:09
I agree with anonymous. The Pre 2 is a very good business phone that works better than any other than the very latest Blackberries. The Pre 3 should be better. Since, unlike the iPhone, the battery is easy to replace, if I can get two I will - and store one with the battery out.
The developer community is incensed with HP but, since there is so much stock that will get sold, they have an incentive to keep going. The Pre 3 is probably a better bet now than Symbian phones from Nokia.
anonymous 24 August, 2011 17:28
Where can we buy this in the UK? I'd like to buy 2 with the price of $50.
anonymous 25 August, 2011 08:01
the pre 3 has sold out in germany but is yet to be launched in england and france. i think that amazon will stock it along with the carphone warehouse
anonymous 25 August, 2011 09:44
well amazon is not selling the touchpad for a cheap price at all. i spoke to a guy in currys and he said theyve never had the touchpad in stock so he doesnt know why people assume they have. is it only available online?
anonymous 25 August, 2011 10:35
I also got the impression that the curry's chain were selling the touchpad after reading a press release online to that effect. I don't know which shops received stock, but Staples and John Lewis told me they had stock in store for a very short time on Tuesday morning.
anonymous 25 August, 2011 11:18
HP pre 3 is availble on carphone warehouse but on full price £479.95....
anonymous 25 August, 2011 18:54
Currys DID have the Touchpad - I was in York on Monday and played with one BEFORE the price droped - the Assistant told me they had sold NONE so far -- two hours later the price dropped at Currys and everywhere was SOLD OUT - guess the staff had a Bonanza !!
anonymous 26 August, 2011 15:21
where can i get a pre 3
anonymous 26 August, 2011 22:10
At least you guys have a chance to get a Pre 3. Over on our side of the pond, we never will.
Oh well. At least my TouchPad's on its way.
anonymous 27 August, 2011 10:31
Would love to get the pre or the touchpad, just seem unable to find anywhere that gas them at the discounted price!!!
anonymous 27 August, 2011 18:21
will probably buy one of these, just to try out and see what its like. plus itl have a nice little web browser. plus give it a couple of years it could be a rare valuable phone xD it has happened. HP has actually done one thing sensibly. you never know this could actually bring palm back if HP changes theyr mind and attract a whole new market
anonymous 27 August, 2011 20:00
both palm and hp did the worst thing possible. they were toooooooooo slow in releasing the product after revealing it to the world and their marketing stank to high heaven. i remember the ads for the pre 1. i just thought to myself, f*ck, i like webos but i would never buy the pre off these ads. if nokia want to be adventurous they could kill of symbian, take webos and with their developers make the most kick ass products.
anonymous 29 August, 2011 19:08
whats the news on this? gone already?
anonymous 30 August, 2011 01:47
its only sold on hp's online site, and is already sold out :(((
anonymous 30 August, 2011 13:34
Not sure it was actually 'sold out', I don't think HP UK ever sold any at £50. What I think has happened is that The Carphone Warehouse has bought all the stock and are selling them on contracts.
jagman9310 30 August, 2011 21:35
This is a technology review site, not a cheap billboard. So take your great free offers elsewhere please.
anonymous 2 September, 2011 11:17
I have just recieved my Pre 3. I though its so cheap why not have a dabble. Well, I am astonished how much I like the OS. Its slick, easy to use and its sysncs with all of my accounts. The phone itself is well made. The frustrating thing is that I would never have considered getting a Pre 3 if the price had not have come down as it did. If HP had have marketed this phone correctly then it would be up their with the likes of IOS and Android.
I think this Web OS is on a par with IOS and dare i say it, better than android which was the OS of choice for me.
anonymous 3 September, 2011 18:34
Where can I find the pre 3 for 49£?
Can someone add a link?
Thanks
anonymous 3 September, 2011 21:07
@ anonymous 2 September, 2011 11:17
How did you get it? I've been keeping track of this since wednesday but couldn't find it anywhere! :/
Did you have to order it at the higher price?
anonymous 13 September, 2011 10:46
I would like de Pre 3 for the price of 50 Pound. Can someone say me where to buy ? I have the Palm system since 14 years with date book and all the stuff. I like it, it is very safe ! A pitty hp and palm has stopped. The Os system is the best !
anonymous 21 September, 2011 22:53
got a touch pad unless you hack them they have a HUGE and i mean HUGE security floor in them, the bloody thing had a mind of its own out the box. runs sweet when both cores run at 1.9. it will soon be the best android tab on the market. dont know why hp stopped making them. the inards inc the sound chip are proper good. it was there pony OS that was the problem its like having a sports car and using water for petol.
anonymous 6 October, 2011 18:41
me gustaría comprar uno. Escribo desde España, si alguien está interesado en venderlo que me escriba al email
anonymous 18 October, 2011 14:50
Wouldn't want it even if you gave it to me
anonymous 18 October, 2011 15:43
I would've loved the HP touchpad with my HP 3...
anonymous 18 October, 2011 17:15
i missed out on those such a shame... lovrely phone
anonymous 18 October, 2011 17:17
i got a hp touchpad myself
anonymous 30 October, 2011 11:36
I would love have one
anonymous 8 January, 2013 18:54
i won't to buy one palm pre 3 but im living in Bulgaria. Its possible ?
JD69 23 January, 2013 13:36
I have used this product since it was known as a Palm Pre and have found it very easy and comfortable to use, I know there is better products out there but I find the WebOS so easy to use and although there are a cpl of glitches with these smart fone I always thought that HP would invest in these little gem and improve it to the point that it would be able to challenge the big boys such as Iphone or Samsung.
I really don't think that it would taken a lot of twiking to get these fone to that standard!
I live in hope and support this product as I still own the latest in its line, the HP Pre 3 and I'm very happy with it!