HP Pre 2 Now Available for Pre-order for Verizon Customers and Others

Talk about having your thunder stolen.

The HP Pre 2 smartphone, formerly the Palm Pre 2, with service from Verizon is now available for pre-order on HP's website. Verizon will be the first U.S. carrier to offer the smartphone.

The news may not seem too exciting, though, as it comes quick on the heels of the Pre 3 and Veer announcements at the HP webOS event on Wednesday.

One major perk of picking up the Pre 2 as a Verizon customer, however, is that it comes with 5 GB of mobile hotspot data per month for free, saving users roughly $40 a month.

The phone is also listed for $100 with a two-year service contract, which is relatively inexpensive, but the site does say that the offer is for a limited time only. There is no word yet on whether or not the mobile hotspot deal is on the clock, as well.

HP Pre 2 OverviewRunning webOS 2.0, the Pre 2 features a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a 3.1-inch touchscreen.

It's powered by a 1GHz processor, comes with 512 MB of RAM, has 16 GB of built-in storage, and has Flash 10.1 functionality for its browser.

Its connectivity includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, 3G, and the aforementioned free wireless hotspot functionality for up to five Wi-Fi-enabled devices.

Verizon's version of the HP Pre 2 is slated to be released on February 17.

HP is already selling an unlocked version of the Pre 2 directly to the public. This can be used with wireless carriers that use the GSM standard, like AT&T and T-Mobile. It costs $450.