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."

Engadget got their hands on an internal Sprint document suggesting that the targeted release date for the Palm Pre is no earlier than May 16th. Following Sprint's product launch trend, May 16th will most likely be Sprint Store's preparation for a May 17th launch, that is if they have enough inventory. Don't know if anyone else noticed it, the very second item from the list reads, "P100(Code name for Palm Pre) FAQs for Search/Support and Learn", happening exactly a week before launch. My guess it's a product update for Sprint employees to answer the FAPQ(P as in Pre), so they can stop answering by, "we'll get more information on that when it's close to launch", since it will be close to launch by then.

[via engadget]

All the rumors and speculations of a mid-April/late April/May launch of the Palm Pre doesn't appear to be too far of a stretch. Stated in an email from Sprint, "Employees can expect training to start in April as well as multiple communications to get them excited and ready to help our customers." I was wondering if the training has begun -- so I asked for a confirmation on that thought.

"I would like to inform that Sprint is in the process of providing the training for the new Palm Pre. Once it's launched, Sprint will be ready to serve their valued customers regarding the Palm Pre."

The fact that Sprint employees are already training up on the Palm Pre, pretty much implies that the release date of the Pre should be near. On top of that, early this week, Sprint began getting the word out about the Pre with their new marketing campaign. So don't be surprised when the Palm Pre launches within the coming 5 weeks or so!

Some say that after seeing Palm Pre demos at CTIA, the Pre doesn't seem to be ready, software wise. And of course many have advised Palm and Sprint to not rush the phone. So the question is, is it really ready?