Taiwan-based Chi Mei Communication Systems will undertake OEM production of the Palm Pre, Palm’s next-generation smartphone that will be launched soon. Chi Mei is likely to source handset FPCBs from fellow suppliers, including Career Technology, Ichia Technologies and Flexium Interconnect, with shipments expected to begin in March at the earliest, indicated the sources.
We’ve already covered the Palm Pre extensively here on My Pre, but just in case you haven’t seen or heard of it, the Palm Pre will be the first device to use Palm’s new webOS. WebOS is a true multi-task operating system able to wirelessly connect and sync with a variety of data with online services like Facebook, Google and among others to be announced.
The Pre phone feature a sleek-physical sliding keyboard and a multi-touch 3.1-inch capacitive display. It lacks the capabilities for additional external storage, but the Pre does have 8 GB of on-board memory, Bluetooth 2.1, Wi-Fi b/g and a 3.0 megapixel camera with LED flash.
Pre will be available first from Sprint sometime in the first half of 2009, while the carrier for the GSM version for Europe and Latin America is yet to be announced.