BGR has a Pre, right now.

BGR and their connections has gotten them a fully working Palm Pre, early. Yes, we're jealous that BGR is the first blog with a Pre. We're also jealous of the fact that they get to write up the very first Full review of the device. Their review will be up tonight or so they say. Speaking of review, check out our own real hands-on review of the Pre that was posted up 18 days ago.

Their little first impression:

"The Pre feels really good in your hand in terms of size and shape, but there’s a real plasticky aura about it. Additionally, things aren’t looking good for that QWERTY either. And hey, you know we take them keyboards seriously! When you try and type on the top row of keys, your finger hits the bottom part of the front piece and on top of that, you often hit multiple keys at the same time while typing. It’s actually really frustrating and doesn’t bode well for such a fantastic social communication/personal/business tool.

The screen is really responsive and blends right in with the casing — awesomely executed and the capacitive touch is so damn beautiful. We’d rate it just behind the iPhone but in front of the T-Mobile G1 as far as screens go. Ready for a couple more shots while we stay up all night and write this review? Hell yeah you are!"

Sprint to Close Early on June 5th in Anticipation of Pre Launch

According to a publish report by BGR with a print out of what looks to be a Sprint memo stating that the retail outlets will be closing stores early in preparation for the release of Palm Pre. This combined with other rumors that there may be a shortage of units, means you had better get in line early to get your hands on the Pre. Make sure to come Pre-pared if you are going to wait in line for the device.

Sprint's Palm Pre In Hands of "Store Advocates"

Looks like Palm Pre has arrived at your local Sprint stores "Store Advocates" hands. As reported, one unit is in hands at each Sprint store for training purposes. The one-per-store units are for the store employee which is the designated expert on the Palm Pre. We expect to see several more shots of the Palm Pre to come here in the future.

[via BGR]

WSJ to carry May 19th announcment of Palm and Sprint Pre

A report from a Tipster whom according to BGR is very reliable, states that a big announcement will be made by Palm and Sprint. The report indicates that there is a supported chance that Pricing and Release date will be made available to the public. Could all other reports on the Palm's release date be incorrect and will not launch the day before Apple's big event?

It would make perfect sense that Palm would want to get a decent head start on the reported iPhone release date by releasing the phone a couple of weeks ahead of rumored release dates and get the jump on the iPhone.

Best Buy to Get Palm Pre, Just Later

From the screen capture above when performing a search on Best Buy, it appears as though sometime in the near future (after that Sprint launch), Best Buy will sell the Palm Pre within the stores. The banner for Sprint went nowhere, but it as prevalent on the landing page. As stated by BGR in this article  that Best Buy would carry the Pre and later the rumor was cancelled out by InsideSprintNow in this article. Looks like both of them are partially right.

This could be a marketing strategy for Sprint and/or could this be an indication that Best Buy will indeed be the first major retailer outside of Sprint stores to sell the Palm Pre - Just not out of the gate.

Palm Pre: InsideSprintNow debunks the latest Best Buy rumors (trial launch, $999)

A few hours back, BGR posted rumors of Best Buy 'trial launching' the Palm Pre and possible pricing points. Hours later, the guys over at InsideSprintNow finally stepped in to debunk it. 

Here's why they think the rumor is bogus:

• Being an insider of Sprint, he/she claims to know the exact release date and pricing for the Palm Pre.
• Sprint would be crazy to let a 'partner' do the huge Palm Pre launch, not to mention how much they would lose from in-store accessory sales for not launching it in their own retail stores.
• Only 4,500 Pre's across the country, with only 1-4 Pre's in each BB Mobile locations. BB employees will most likely purchase the few 1-5 Pre's before doors are even opened.
• Contract or not, $999 price point will never happen, ever. We know.

And in his/her own words about the $299 price point for upgrades:

"As to the upgrades for existing customers? Have you -ever- seen a single price point for an upgrade price? The answer is no, because the system is simply not set up like this. The existing customer price will be the standard $75 off for 10+ months into agreement, $150 off for 22+ months, and the full $150 off + any rebates for those that qualify and have have the same device for 24+ months, which is essentially new customer pricing. Premier & White Glove customers also qualify for essentially new customer pricing at the 12 month mark, just as with any other device. To hint that there would be a single price point for any customer that wanted to upgrade is simply incorrect, and anyone as familiar with Sprint as BGR should be, knows that the system just isn’t set up to allow for that."