Palm Pre shortages addressed by Sprint

We reported a couple of days ago that there might be a shortage of Palm Pre units once it goes on retail next month. The exact figure of 200K units mentioned isn’t by any stretch official, but it’s enough to really get us worried over its availability in the first couple of months when it hits the market. With many anticipating the Palm Pre’s release next month, it would be a shame if both Palm and Sprint can’t cope up with the demand for this next-generation smartphone. Unfortunately, that seems to be the case with all these Palm Pre shortage rumours floating around.

In light of these, Sprint has finally broken their silence and issued an official statement regarding all these speculation regarding the Palm Pre inventory:

At Sprint, we’re excited by the response to the Palm Pre, but what’s been posted is pure speculation. Because of the Pre’s popularity, it’s likely that initially we won’t be able to keep up with the demand for the device. If that happens, we will work diligently to ensure that everyone who wants a Pre can get one as soon as possible.

So, they neither confirmed nor denied the stock figure, but they do, however, assure us that they’re working hard to meet the expectations of everyone. Do they really have a decent inventory of the Palm Pre for its launch next month, or are they just hiding the fact that Palm still doesn’t have enough Palm Pre units ready for its grand market debut? We’ll probably never really know. So for now, it would be best to get your camping gear ready if you’re really determined to be one of the first Palm Pre owners across the globe.

[PMP today via BGR]