Palm Pre will be O2 exclusive

O2 must be laughing. Having sold out of the 16GB iPhone 3G S here in the UK, they've just secured a deal for the Palm Pre. The Apple–bashing smartphone is set to get its official British unveiling next week.The Guardian has snooped around and got word that a partnership between the two has definitely been struck. It represents a major coup for O2, especially as they apparently saw off some tough competition from Orange, the same company they pipped to the iPhone.The Palm Pre arrived to much fanfare at this year's CES in Las Vegas. The WebOS and multitouch functionality has caused plenty of fuss since, with Apple becoming increasingly het up about the competition it represents.We'll be getting more official details of the GSM version of the Palm Pre in the UK next week. In the meantime, take a look at our hands–on video from CES and read our in–depth review of the Palm Pre, straight outta the the USA.