We heard earlier this morning that the GSM Pre was set for a UK launch, and now it sounds like things are coming together: The Guardian says the Palm's baby will launch on O2. That makes perfect sense, O2 owner Telefonica reportedly secured broad global rights to the Pre back in March. Of course, this is all yet to be official, but with actual GSM handsets floating around out there and an announcement expected next week, we're guessing we don't have too much longer to wait.

We heard way back at CES that a GSM Pre was in the works, but not until now have we heard who exactly in the world would be using it. According to confirmation received by T3, Palm is gearing up to disclose the whos, whats and wheres behind the UK launch next week, meaning that we've got seven days (give or take) to twiddle our thumbs until we know which carrier (O2 or Vodafone, most likely), how much and when it'll be available for purchase. We know it's agonizing, but at least you've a time frame to circle in your Trapper Keeper now, right?

The big Android news today is all out of London and New York today, but if we move a bit eastward, there's some cool stuff going on in Deutschland, too: Samsung's i7500 Galaxy is now available. The beastly smartphone immediately becomes the highest-end Android device to date and will have a little while to enjoy the top of the hill until the Hero drops, thanks in no small part to its 5 megapixel cam, support for 7.2Mbps HSDPA, 8GB of internal storage, and a 3.2-inch AMOLED display. Looks like it's yours for €69.99 (about $98) on contract, so count us in -- and how about some time on the Nürburgring while we're at it?

[Thanks, Jon]

What a difference 18 months makes, eh? The relative short line for today's iPhone 3G S launch at Apple's flagship Regent Street store in London could be attributed to any number of factors: the economy, the steep cost of upgrade for iPhone 3G owners, or the fact that Apple allowed for advanced iPhone 3G S orders with home delivery. Or maybe people just aren't willing to wait in line for a bump in speed, improved graphics, and video recording. We wouldn't call it apathy but the iPhone halo doesn't seem as shiny beneath a spotlight now shared with Android and the new Pre. Regardless, the iPhone 3G S is now on sale in the UK and a few more European countries with North America up next after a few degrees of the Earth's rotation.

Update: According to O2, sales for the 3G S have already surpassed numbers for the iPhone 3G during last year's launch. Looks like pre-orders were in full effect here.

[images courtesy of Richard Lai and mrgeoffb]

Didja hear the news? There's a new iPhone coming out tomorrow! Okay, snark aside, we know there's still a good number of you who want to brave the weather and grab yourself a brand spanking new 3G S, but for whatever reason didn't pre-order ahead of time. Not to worry, we're here to help!

United States

If you pre-ordered the phone in-store from AT&T, you can pick it up tomorrow at 7:00AM from that same retail outlet. Everyone else will have to wait until the normal business hours, and from there it's first come, first serve. If you're wanting to head to an Apple store, be sure to set your alarms for the right time: each one is opening at 7:00AM local time. Apple's online site has a field to let you complete pre-authorization ahead of time, but that won't guarantee you availability so still plan on waiting outside before sunrise. You can also try your luck at Best Buy and Walmart, which should be receiving some stock for each store. As for online pre-orders from either AT&T or Apple, well, just go with whatever the shipping date currently says.

United Kingdom

O2 customers can get their 3G S starting at 8:02AM -- yes, that's the official time, and not a minute sooner, we suspect -- from O2, Apple, and Carphone Warehouse stores. Prices vary based on a variety of 18 and 24 month plans, as well as Pay & Go plans.

Canada

Unsurprisingly, Rogers and subsidiary Fido will be handling your iPhone fix. Also, for the first time, you can also drop by an Apple retail store, which should open around 8:00AM local time. From what we can tell, the Rogers / Fido stores aren't opening early, but just to be safe, you might wanna call tonight or plan on showing up an hour before the usual time.

Obviously, there's more than a few countries we're not covering here, so hit up the read link to check out Apple's official site for details by region, and feel free to share your own tips in the comments below!

It'd take a really acutely developed talent for shutting oneself off from news to not know how much the iPhone 3G S is going to run on AT&T -- $199 and $299 for the 16GB and 32GB models on contract, just in case you've forgotten -- but what about some of the other countries that are destined to be launching the new model alongside the US on the same day? Up north, we've been told by a company spokesman that Apple partner Rogers will be pricing them at CAD $199 and $299 on three-year contracts, which works out to about $177 and $266; the old 3G, meanwhile, will be sold for (you guessed it) CAD $99. Tethering will be available and there will be no-contract pricing, but details haven't yet been announced there. Meanwhile, O2 over in the UK has dropped details on its site that put both the 3G S 16GB and 32GB as cheap as free if you sign up for a rich-enough two-year deal. Must be nice, eh?

[Thanks to everyone who sent these in]

Since its sneaky, silent unveiling at February's Mobile World Congress, the GSM version of the Pre has been a total no-show -- good for Sprint publicity-wise, probably, but bad for virtually every other carrier and potential customer in the world. If we had to guess, the silence can be attributed to heated negotiations between Palm and dozens of potential networks; the company knows it has a probable winner on its hands, and it has every reason to play hardball to get the best exclusivity deal that it possibly can. The Guardian is now reporting that O2 has fended off competing offers from Vodafone and Orange to nab the Pre in the UK, meaning that the carrier -- Britain's largest by subscriber count -- would be launching the device alongside the iPhone 3G, though rumors only have it pegged for pre-Christmas availability meaning it'd actually be doing with whatever new device Apple intends to bring to the table this summer. Whether it can hold its own against a renewed Cupertino onslaught in the holiday season remains to be seen, but in the spirit of competition and awesome smartphones, we certainly hope so.

Quite a bit has gone down in the cellular realm since Barcelona opened its beautiful doors to host Mobile World Congress 2009, but how could we ever forget this gem? Samsung's M7600 Beat DJ is about as close as we'll ever come to a real live Pilotfish Ondo, and after months of waiting, it's finally on sale across the pond. Available for purchase right now at O2 UK, the Bang & Olufsen-infused handset packs a 2.6-inch OLED panel, perfect for mixing, scratching and texting your mum when you stay out too late. It's all yours for between £0.00 and £146.80 ($233) depending on your choice of contract, and if any of you kind, gentle Britons feel like importing a few for the deprived Yanks over here, drop us a note in comments.

[Thanks, Todd]

We can dig that the Xda brand carries some weight and some solid history on O2, but usually, the carrier puts at least a little effort into coming up with creative, unique names for its units -- even if they're just mild rebrands of globally-launched HTCs. This time, though, they're not even bothering with the formalities, simply tweaking the Touch Diamond2's name to "Xda Diamond2" for its German launch this week. Pleasantly, the device is SIM-unlocked and features a tasteful carrier tattoo on the lower back; you should be able to find it for €420 (about $568) contract-free, so we'll cut it some slack -- it is HSUPA-capable, after all.

We don't know everywhere that the i7500's going to land yet -- the presence of AWS 3G is still giving us loads of hope that it'll come to T-Mobile USA eventually -- but one place we're quite sure of is Germany, where O2's local outpost has now said that it'll launch in "the next couple of months." That lines up nicely with what we'd been expecting prior to the phone's announcement -- so now we just need, oh, say, about 20 more announcements around the world and we'll be good to go. Any time now, Sammy.

At Apple's iPhone OS 3.0 preview event last Tuesday, Sir Scott explained that it was "working with carriers around the world" to build tethering support in. We can't say for sure what that means, but it certainly sounds like it'll be up to the operator to activate (or not) iPhone tethering when OS 3.0 is launched to the masses. Pocket-lint took the opportunity to ping both O2 and Vodafone over in the UK, though neither company seemed particularly interested in giving a solid answer. The former simply stated that it was "working [with Apple] to ensure new features, including tethering, are fully supported on O2's network," but wasn't "making any announcements yet." The latter simply proclaimed that it was "discussing the situation" but didn't have anything to confirm. To us, it sounds like both carriers will eventually allow it, but we aren't too sure they'll be doing so with no extra fees woven in.

Movistar is already Telefonica's mobile brand around the world, but the Telefonica name lives on for some of the company's other services like wireline -- for now, anyhow. At a recent directors' meeting in Madrid, Telefonica announced that all of its services around the world would be rebranded as Movistar, both mobile and otherwise; only O2 will survive the consolidation in the UK, Ireland, Germany, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia along with the Vivo brand in Brazil. If you're getting all teary-eyed about the change, take solace in the knowledge that Telefonica will live on as the corporate parent of the whole mess -- just don't expect to be picking up a Telefonica payphone in Spain anymore.