If you're anticipating the release of Palm's Pre like we have been, then you should appreciate the latest rumors on the smartphone.

The first, and it would big news if true, is that the Pre will launch as early as next month. The source names February 15th as the potential release date, much earlier than we had expected. While this source has apparently been more often right than not, some bloggers are voicing their doubts on the prediction. As some point out, were the Pre ready to ship so soon we should have been able to find some evidence of it by now in the regulatory filings the FCC makes available. Handsets need to be tested for antenna output before they can be used in the U.S., and so far there's no evidence that the Pre has made it that far.

What's more likely is the rumor that Palm has a Pre-related announcement in store for the Mobile World Conference in Spain next month. Some people noticed that Palm had registered a domain name and set up a website specifically for the conference. Access to the site was restricted by password, hinting at juicy secrets within. As soon as bloggers caught wind of the site, Palm abruptly took it offline. The rumor at the forefront is that Palm intends to use the conference to reveal a version of the Pre compatible with European GSM networks. The Sprint version we'll be getting in the states is a CDMA phone, incompatible with most non-U.S. systems.

From the looks of it, February should be full of even more Pre news, so keep checking back in with us.

This story around the web: