webOS 2.1 for the Pre Plus now is available to download for O2 Germany users

In spite of HP's strong assurances to the contrary, the Palm Pre Plus is actually going to give users the option to ride into webOS 2.x territory. As we speculated yesterday, O2 Germany Pre Plus owners can now download a new firmware package for their slider handsets, which will work its magic and update them to version 2.1 of HP's magnificent software. The company has been actively discouraging users and programmers from pairing the older hardware with the latest software, so we can't promise it'll be a bump-free ride for all upgraders, but having the option is all people have been asking for and now it's there -- and by "there" we mean the source link below.

Palm Pre Plus to get webOS 2 after all?

We won't lie: we did feel a little put out when our pal Jon Rubinstein told us that webOS 2.0 wouldn't be coming to the Palm Pre Plus -- something about the older hardware not having the necessary "oomph" to handle the new OS. But perhaps all hope is not lost! According to a rep from O2 Germany (as espied on the company's support forums) HP will make with the new operating system at some point in the near future -- just not as an over-the-air update. When the time comes (indeed, if the time comes) you'll need to download it from HP's website not your computer and install it via USB. And maybe that will be the point when we discover the joys of running a new OS on an underpowered handset for ourselves!

Update: Okay, maybe not. Mitchell wrote in to let us know that HP pulled the webOS 2.0 SDKs and are "actively encouraging" devs to stick with 1.4.5 for the Pre Plus. So, yeah, bummer.