NY Times Says the Palm Pre Will Debut in Early June

UPDATE: Palm and Sprint have officially announced the release date and price for the Palm Pre. To learn more, read this article: It's Official: Palm Pre Coming to Sprint on June 6

Rumors and speculation on the release date of the Palm Pre have been circulating for months, but evidence is now solidifying around a launch early next month.

The latest to point to this time period is no less than the New York Times:

[T]he season's most compelling phone drama will start the first week in June, when Sprint will begin selling the Palm Pre.

Still, this isn't 100% confirmation, as the Times cites unnamed "people briefed on the company's plans".

One of Many Sources
Exactly when the Palm Pre will be on sale in stores is not yet known because all Palm or Sprint has said so far is that the release will be in the first half of the year. According to unconfirmed reports, this will change tomorrow, and the two companies will announce the release date and price.

Information leaking out of the retailer Best Buy indicates that the actual debut will be June 7, and other sources have pointed to an imminent launch.

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., this smartphone will be available first from Sprint, who will add its mobile broadband service EV-DO Rev. A.  According to information leaking out of Best Buy, the Pre will sell for $200 with a new two-year contract.

A Canadian version from Bell Mobility will be released later this year, while the GSM version for Europe and Latin America is also expected before 2010, and will have the 3G standard HSDPA.

A follow-up model called the Palm Eos is reportedly on its way to AT&T and Sprint.

Source: New York Times