U.S.

Palm Inc made Jon Rubinstein its CEO on Wednesday, hoping the former Apple executive will bring fresh innovation to a company hoping to revive its fortunes with a new smartphone introduced last weekend.

Palm Chief Executive Officer Ed Colligan said the new Pre smart phone would go on sale in Europe and the United States in the first half of 2009. Colligan made his announcement in an interview at the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas Thursday, PC World reported. Sprint will receive exclusive access to the new Pre in the United States, the report said. The phone comes with the new WebOS operating system that allows for typing on a slide-out keyboard as well as a touch screen.

Palm Inc. unveiled its sleek new touch-screen “Pre” smartphone and operating system on Thursday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Palm Inc. swung to a loss in the fiscal second quarter amid withering competition from consumer electronics rivals.