Photos: Palm Pre Plus coming to UK this week

Pixi Plus also winging its way onto O2 network...

Palm's updated touchscreen slider smartphone - the Pre Plus - is set to arrive in the UK this week, on the O2 network.

The Pre Plus offers modest hardware and software tweaks on its predecessor, the Palm Pre, including changes to the device's sliding mechanism, more clickable keys on its Qwerty keyboard, and the removal of the physical home button at the bottom of the touchscreen - replaced with an LED strip.

Photo credit: Palm

Storage on the Pre Plus has been ramped up from the Pre's 8GB to 16GB. There's also more memory on board, and Palm has made its Touchstone case-backing - which allows for wireless charging when connected to the dock - a standard feature, rather than a paid-for add-on as it was with Palm Pre. However, the Touchstone induction dock is still sold separately.

Photo credit: Palm

Another new feature of the Pre Plus enables it to act as a wi-fi router - providing connectivity to other wi-fi-enabled gadgets via Palm's mobile hotspot app.

Photo credit: Palm

The Pre Plus comes with a 3.1-inch touchscreen, and its dimensions are 2.4 x 3.9 x 0.7 inches.

The webOS-powered smartphone also includes Bluetooth, GPS and a three-megapixel camera.

It will be available to O2 UK customers from 28 May, on either an 18-month or 24-month contract.

Photo credit: Palm

Palm's Pixi Plus is also due to arrive in the UK this Friday - the follow-up to the Palm Pixi.

The Pixi Plus's major update is the inclusion of wi-fi. The candybar smartphone is Palm's thinnest device to date, according to the company.

Photo credit: Palm