Telef├│nica lands Palm Pre deal

Spanish communications group Telef├│nica will be the exclusive mobile phone network in the UK, Germany, Spain and Ireland for the Palm Pre, the new handset that is widely seen as the closest rival to Apple's iPhone.  Telef├│nica's O2 network will have initial exclusivity in the UK, Ireland and Germany, while Movistar will have an exclusive deal in Spain.  The Palm Pre, which is both a phone and mini computer, is expected to go on sale in the specified European countries in October, so that orders can maximised in the run-up to Christmas. No price has yet been announced. Telef├│nica is Spain's leading telecommunications group, whose handset deals already include exclusive selling rights to the Apple iPhone in the UK, Ireland and Spain.  The company fended off significant interest from rivals such as Vodafone to clinch the deal for the Palm Pre. The new handset went on sale in the US in June with operator Sprint, breaking SprintÔÇÖs first-weekend sales record in the first weekend of its release.  Having an exclusive deal on the iPhone significantly boosted O2's business in the UK, both in terms of revenue growth and new customers.  *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *