It’s official folks, the Pre has just been launched by Sprint and, as we were all expecting, the hot Palm phone is going to arrive on Saturday, June 6. It will be available in Sprint stores for $199.99 after $100 mail-in rebate, with a two-year contract. The phone will also be available in Best Buy, Radio Shack and Walmart locations so you should have no problems getting one. Well that’s not true, is it? Probably we’ll see lots of lines and we can only hope Palm is ready to supply enough handsets.

Sprint is ready to offer a device that comes with “operating system that redefines the experience of living and working wirelessly.” I bet the competition will be monitoring closely the Pre’s performance.

Dan Hesse, president and CEO of Sprint said:

The argument that you need one phone for work and another phone for play, or that you have to make compromises between business and lifestyle productivity, is over. With Pre, compromises of the past are history.

The Pre will apparently run on the “most dependable 3G network” in America and it will save customers up to $1,430 over two years in comparison with AT&T’s and Verizon’s similar plans. A Sprint Everything Data plan will be required and we’ll wait for you to tell us more about that 3G network and eventual savings.

webOS is the hot new platform we were waiting to see. webOS will come with Palm Synergy, a new feature which will offer you everything in a centralized view: personal and professional calendar, contacts, e-mail and more. Palm Synergy will feature linked contacts, layered calendars and combined messaging. webOS will let you open as many applications as you want. Multi-tasking is now available and you’ll have no problem switching between your favorite apps.

Ed Colligan, Palm’s president and CEO said:

Pre is truly a new phone for a new web-centric age. We’re a mobile society, and we want our people, calendars and information to move with us. With Pre’s exquisite design and the unique webOS software, running on Sprint’s fast broadband network, we’re changing the perception of what a wireless phone can be.

Unfortunately the Touchstone will not come in the box. You’ll get a regular charger but I am sure that everyone will want to test out that inductive charging technology offered by the Touchstone. The Touchstone charging dock and Touchstone back cover for Pre will also be available on June 6 for $69.99

Sprint will offer some of its own applications on the Pre too. You will be able to run Sprint Navigation, Sprint TV or NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live on this phone.

Last, but not least, Sprint will offer access to Palm Pre users to its Now Network. According to Dan Hesse:

Sprint’s Now Network brings you America’s most dependable 3G network, the largest push-to-talk community, and in selected markets Sprint is the only national carrier bringing 4G to life in 2009. The Now Network is more than just a physical network – it’s also data plans that are all-inclusive, eliminating fear of data overages and a perfect fit for Palm Pre users.

So what do you guys think? Anxious anyone? Apple, the ball is in your court now!

via Press