Best Buy to trial launch Palm Pre on June 7th
Well lookie here. This one isn't 100% confirmed just yet but a ninja hit us up with what could be some pretty juicy launch details for the rumor mill's favorite handset du jour, the Palm Pre. Here we go — according to our ninja …
Context & Ripple Effects
The Pre's launch calendar has been built almost entirely out of leaks so far. In January, WebOS Arena reported that Best Buy would be the Palm Pre's exclusive retail partner, and in mid-April an Engadget-sourced document pointed to no earlier than May 16 for the device hitting shelves. BGR's new tip moves that window back to June 7 and adds a wrinkle neither earlier leak carried: a trial-style launch run through Best Buy rather than a single national drop.
The detail matters because Palm is reportedly working on more than one device — TechCrunch flagged a second, smaller handset targeted for later this year — so whatever launch mechanics Best Buy pilots with the Pre become the template for how webOS hardware reaches consumers beyond Sprint's own stores.
First-order effects
- If the June 7 date holds, the leaked May 16 floor slips by three weeks, and Best Buy staff rather than Sprint's own channel become the first hands-on point for most buyers evaluating the Pre against iPhone and BlackBerry alternatives.
Second-order effects
- A staggered Best Buy trial forces Sprint and rival carriers' retail partners to react to a launch cadence set by leaks and pilot programs instead of official announcements, compressing their own training and inventory planning windows.
Third-order effects
- If the trial model works, carrier-exclusive flagships increasingly reach consumers through big-box retail pilots first — making the retailer's shelf placement and staff pitch, not the carrier announcement, the decisive moment for a platform like webOS trying to break into a two-OS market.
The trend: Smartphone launches are being choreographed through leaked documents and retailer trial programs, with big-box partners gaining outsized influence over when and how a new platform debuts.