Verizon says they will have a Pre or something like unto it within six months. AT&T has similar thoughts, hoping to bust a move with their own Pre or other Palm webOS device once the Sprint exclusivity with Palm ends. Sprint Nextel’s CEO Dan Hesse says, “not so fast!” If you really want a Pre but are stuck in a contract with one of the “other” guys, maybe you were encouraged by the claims of Verizon and AT&T – that they will have a Pre or something Pre-ish soon – so you thought you could wait it out. According to Mr. Hesse, you might as well head over to a Sprint store because they will be the only game in town for a while.

At a cnet press event, Mr. Hesse said, “They need to check their facts. That just is not the case. Both Palm and Sprint have agreed not to discuss the length of the exclusivity deal. But I can tell you it’s not six months.” Interesting quote. On one hand, Mr. Hesse states that Palm and Sprint have not discussed any set time limit on the exclusivity, yet he then firmly denies that it’s only six months. The Palm Pre will be the flagship of Sprint Nextel – a device they will market to showcase their new and improved network. On the eve of the Pre launch, the last thing you would want if you were Sprint are your competitors claiming to have the same whiz-bang webOS phone on their network in six months or less. Whether they admit it or not, Sprint needs a successful launch of the Pre and they need to milk it for all it’s worth.

If what Mr. Hesse says is true and that Sprint will have exclusivity well beyond six months, how many of you on “brand X” networks will saunter over to a Sprint store and pick up a Pre? How many of you will wait for Verizon and AT&T to get theirs?

Source: cnet