Is the European Pre Ready for Launch?

It looks like Palm was right to underplay their presence at the Playbite 2009 conference in the UK yesterday, eschewing a proper announcement of a release date in favor of just showing some demo units of the device. The Mirror was there and wasn't impressed:

[...] what should’ve been an eye-popping debut turned into a damp squib, as Palm’s iPhone-battling smartphone appeared plagued by software problems, hardware stuck in prototype limbo and uncertainty over a firm UK release date

We're as confused as The Mirror, as when we had some eyes-on time with the GSM version of the Palm Pre way back in February at Mobile World Congress, things seemed to be progressing quite well. On the other hand, Steve O'Hear of last100 found himself impressed.

In other news, we're still waiting to find out whether or not the GSM Pre will be offered unlocked ("SIM -fee"), despite the exclusive granted to O2 / Telefonica. We've heard reports that the GSM Pre will not be locked down to a particular carrier, but haven't fully confirmed that yet. The latest in this hunt are reports that a few sites are offering pre-orders of SIM Free Palm Pre phones, but eWeek spoke to a Palm Rep who recommended people shy away from such things, as they're going to work hard to only allow official outlets to sell the Pre. Given that we've seen sites trying to offer pre-orders as early as April, for the time being we have to agree that a grain-of-salt approach to these third party pre-orders is the right now. eWeek also implies that the Pre will be offered SIM-free, which is heartening.

In any case, all rumors are still pointing towards an October launch for the device, but given how quickly that month is coming upon us without an official announcement of a release date, we're not so sure it'll happen. When do you think the Pre will land in Europe?

Thanks to Reppy for the tips!