The announcement of the new Palm Pre at CES earlier this month was an exciting one. It takes the advanced touchscreen technology of the iPhone and ups the ante with a new operating system called WebOS that could make this upcoming new phone a real contender for the hottest new handset of the year. However, Palm may have to face some legal hassles with Apple which has made some vague references to concerns about patent infringement. Apple hasn’t named names but everyone believes it’s the Palm Pre they’re talking about as they discuss their concerns that their intellectual property rights are being infringed upon.

The Palm Pre is a lozenge-shaped handset with a unique touchscreen and a QWERTY slider. The touchscreen is advanced in comparison with other touchscreens in the market today; it uses a simple sliding system that eliminates the need for window screens. Additionally, it implements automatic saving so that whatever you’re doing on your mobile phone won’t get lost while you’re working on it.

Of even more interest with the Palm Pre is the brand new operating system which easily takes in data from around the web and makes it easily accessible on the phone. Where the Palm Pre takes things to the next level is in its ability to access data on the phone during a call so that information can be transmitted by both voice and text simultaneously. This could prove to be a great tool for people who use their mobile phones for business, allowing them to send emails and access web information during their professional calls.

The new phone is expected out later this year, debuting in the US and then moving to the UK. However, it may face a battle from Apple over perceived infringement of iPhone technology used in the phone. Apple representatives hinted at the fact that they’d be willing to go to court over the issue but Palm says that its patents are in place and that they’d prevail in a lawsuit which means that the Pre should make it to market sooner or later.