By Stephen Schenck | January 31, 2011 5:02 PM
Like animals heading for high ground before a flood, when we start to see whole flocks of smartphones disappear, it’s a good bet that something big is coming. Apple’s well known for depleting its stocks of certain hardware in advance of a new release, but this time it’s Verizon with the vanishing gadgets. Check out Verizon’s website today, and you won’t see any Palm models listed along with currently-available smartphones.
The obvious guess is that Verizon’s move has something to do with the webOS event HP has been promising for February 9. If HP was going to use that opportunity to talk about the Pre 2 coming to Verizon, of course the provider would want to put the breaks on previous-gen Palm phones, both to make room in inventory and avoid customers finding out a day after purchase that their new Palm is already behind the times.
For all the effort the company’s put into promoting the event, we expect something a little more substantial than just hearing about the Pre 2′s new home, so we’ll consider that part of the larger picture. Maybe we’ll learn of a redesigned Pre 2 with LTE hardware for Verizon’s 4G network. There’s almost certain to be a lot of tablet news happening – maybe even a few surprises.
Check back with us a week from Wednesday, when we’ll hopefully know for sure just what Verizon’s plans for Palm smartphones are.
