The beginning of June is shaping up to be the big moment in this year’s smartphone calendar.
Palm and Sprint just announced a launch date for the much-anticipated Pre: Saturday 6th June. We got pretty excited about the device ourselves when it was first shown off at the start of the year, though a veiled threat of a lawsuit from Apple and a warning that early sales will fall well short of the hype are a reminder that this 
remains a high-risk proposition for the struggling Palm.
Perhaps not coincidentally, the launch has been set for two days before an Apple event at which the latest iteration of its iPhone is expected to be introduced – and, possibly, a larger touchscreen device that pushes the boundaries of this new category.
Will users flock to the stores for a Pre rather than sit out the weekend to see what Apple has up its sleeve? Will Apple try to steal Palm’s thunder with a last-minute lawsuit to defend its intellectual property in the multi-touch user interface? Can Apple, without the close daily involvement of the hyper-hands on Steve Jobs, come up with another industry-defining product to match the breakthroughs of the iPhone? It should be quite a week.
