Pre - $199 (After Rebate) On June 6th

According to Yahoo (Via Reuters), Palm and Sprint will try to upset the mobile device world with the Pre for $199 on June 6th. However, expect to pay $299 at the store because you won't get the $199 price until you mail in the rebate and get the rebate check back. How does this compare to the other smartphones and mobile devices?

I can't tell you that because Palm has yet to release a whole host of information regarding its usage such as the battery life.

However, this is a very important announcement as Palm attempts to revive its fortunes, not to mention those of Sprint's.

For a while, I had expected a boring two to six weeks until the iPhone is released but this has certainly made things interesting. At the end of the day, this is not really about the iPhone. It is about whether Palm can deliver as hyped. Already, Palm is trading more than 5% lower as investors find the information not to their likely. Matching iPhone's entry-level pricing is a no-brainer. I suspect that the Pre's challenge in the comping months will be competition with Blackberries priced from free to $199. Oh, there's another "storm" on the horizon as RIM readies Storm 2.

For Palm to finally get Pre out the door is the easy part. Convincing fans like myself who have left it for other platforms will be the difficult part. So Palm, I'm not very happy with my G1. Get me to switch.

Via Yahoo News

Note: Again, we mobile warriors win at the end of the day. And expect Palm's competitors to welcome the Pre with a party of new hardwares, competing rates, and misdirections. And possibly a $99 iPhone.

Another Note: The rebate thing is stupid, Sprint. Stop that nonsense.