Have you been anticipating the Pal Pre release? Well, wait no longer! It's been officially announced by Sprint that the Palm Pre will be released Saturday, June 6th, 2009. I received the email this afternoon from Sprint titled: The Palm Pre is finally here! Doors open at 8 AM June 6. Take a look at the screen capture image of it below. I wonder why they waited until the day before to announce it?

If you are in the market for a new smart phone, you may want to take a look at the new cell Palm Pre. It's release date has finally been announced so you can gauge the new technology that Palm brings to the stage for yourself. There are many features that avid smart phone reviewers believe will give the iPhone stiff competition.

If you notice from the above screen capture, the email suggests that the Pal Pre is going to cost $199.99 - let's see... I followed the link from the email I received to the Sprint website and called my local Sprint store to see confirm the release and see what info I could find out about the new Palm Pre. Here's what I learned:

• The Palm Pre release is officially June 6th, 2009 at 8AM!
  
• The price of $199.99 is for new or existing customers that are eligible for an upgrade from Sprint. The price of the phone upfront is actually $299.99 for eligible Sprint customers with a $100 mail in rebate. I figured that was important to know if you were planning on strolling into a store to demo and possibly buy the new Palm Pre tomorrow.
• The retail pricing of a Palm Pre varies - the associate I spoke with has seen prices (at different retailers) varying from $699 - as much as $899!! This phone costs just about as much as a laptop, so I hope it does a lot - but honestly, I've always been a Palm fan - they haven't let me down yet. If you're interested in a Palm Pre it seems the best way to get one is to set up a new account with Sprint and grab on of their packages. It seems as if they're lowest plan starts at $69.99 - visit the Sprint site for specs.
  
• Many stores have waiting lists for the Palm Pre. If you are already on the waiting list you are guaranteed a phone. If not, you need to get into your local Sprint store early to attempt to guarantee yourself a Palm Pre phone. Otherwise, you will need to wait 2 business days (which is not entirely long, unless you are really impatient) for the phone to be shipped to the Sprint store you purchased your Palm Pre from. Some stores are authorized for direct shipping, but only a select few.
• All new Sprint accounts and orders of Palm Pre done online or in stores that are already sold out of the Palm Pre will be specifically direct shipped. If you find yourself going this route, the Sprint associate advised me that you please be very careful in activating and turning on your new Palm Pre. With the new Web OS application that the Palm Pre runs, if the Palm Pre is not fully activated when you power it on it can becomes like a brick - you can't use it, and you will need to wait several days to return and order a new phone. Make sure you complete the activation process, which can take only 5-7 minutes, just be patient.
  

I know I can't personally wait to get my hands on the Palm Pre!! I've been waiting to hear from Sprint what the official Palm Pre release was going to be, although, I got a heads up on my other Palm Pre Release Date hub suggesting it may be June 6th.Now I can actually get my hands on one and play with it!

One feature I personally love over the iPhone, that the Palm Pre offers, is that the Palm Pre offers a physical keyboard. I have fumbled with the iPhones touchscreen keypad and it's one feature that has honestly turned me off to the iPhone. There are many other features that set the two PDA smart phones apart from each other. Now, with an official Palm Pre release date, we are all no longer just waiting in vain...