GSM Palm Pre Making the Certification Rounds, is US Bound

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's fair to say that Palm Pre Silly Season, Part 2 is officially in effect.  As rumors swirl about what the European Release date will be, a PreCentral reader named Calvin has gotten down and dirty with the Google. He's sent his findings to us and we present them here to you.

First up, you can check this PDF to see that a new version of the Pre has been certified by Wi-Fi.org. That's where the hunt begins, as the unit certified here is P100UNA - Calvin notes that this matches up with the Treo Pro GSM version, T850UNA - the U is for UMTS, the NA is for North America.  In other words, there's a version of the Palm Pre GSM that Palm is at least getting certified for US use (a strong indication it will support US 3G).

Not enough?  How about this Bluetooth Gadget Guide listing with the P100UNA and P100UEU (that'd be UMTS-European Union) entries?  That could indicate that there will be separate version, but remember that there's a UNA and UEU version of the Treo Pro as well, add in Palm's limited resources and we're expecting one model for both regions. Note also the P100UEU was seen on that Pre Spy Shot in Vietnam.

Still not convinced that someday we'll see a US-compatible GSM Palm Pre? How about Certificate No. 72090412 at TUVdotCOM? That odd certification clears the P100UNA with both US and Canadian regulators like OSHA and CSS in one fell swoop.

It's not surprising and it's not like it gives us any indication of whether or not AT&T will pick it up, but it is very likely that the GSM Palm Pre will handle US 3G bands. Next stop: FCC?

Huge Props to Calvin for his internet sleuthing savvy!

Update: Chris Ziegler at Engadget makes the rather-smart observation that Bell will be transitioning from CDMA to GSM and mayhap this GSM Pre could be destined for their network - i.e. while we're definitely going to see something North American, the US isn't necessarily a lock.