Palm Pre Launch Could Still Be Over a Month Away

Sprint has committed to releasing the Palm Pre in the first half of this year, but won't get any more specific than that. According to a recent rumor the launch could be in mid-May, but a new report says that this smartphone won't debut for at least another month.

A Sprint Sprint Customer Service Specialist told PreThinking that this carrier still hasn't determined when the Pre will be released. When the final decision is made, it will be for a date that's a month ahead.

Once Sprint has determined the launch day, the carrier will then begin to advertise it, and also take pre-orders for this smartphone.

This source was not able to indicate what Sprint intends to charge for the Palm Pre.

How Reliable Is This?
Although this report isn't good news for those eager to get their hands on a Pre, these people should keep in mind that information coming from carrier salespeople on the release dates of upcoming models doesn't have a very good track record. These companies don't want their salespeople to leak this information to the public, so they don't keep them in the loop, and this group has to depend on hints and rumor.

Earlier unconfirmed reports say the Palm Pre could debut on May 17, and to back this up employees who work in Sprint retail stores are not being granted any vacation time in the month of May.

An Overview of the Palm Pre
The Palm Pre will be the first device to use Palm's newly-announced webOS. This will be a multi-tasking operating system able to wirelessly synchronize a wide variety of data with online services like Google and Facebook.

The Pre itself will feature a sliding keyboard as well as a multi-touch-capable 3.1-inch display. This device will also be equipped with 8 GB of on-board storage, Wi-Fi b/g, Bluetooth 2.1, GPS, and a 3.0 megapixel camera with LED flash. 

In the U.S., the Pre will be available first from Sprint, who will add its mobile broadband service EV-DO Rev. A. The GSM version for Europe and Latin America may debut later this year, and will have the 3G standard HSDPA.

Source: PreThinking