So, we have been in touch with several sources from the red V who tell us that the original information that Verizon was going to pass on the Palm Pre is, in fact, incorrect. Those sources that are spreading this information must just be misinformed or have not been in the loop on the Pre deal.

What we are hearing now is that the Pre will arrive and is, in fact, already in technical acceptance field testing. While a final date for it to arrive has yet to be determined, it will not arrive this year; it is more likely to arrive some time during the middle of the first quarter of next year.

Our red V moles say that there were some rocky points in the discussions and some problems that have turned up in testing, but it is nothing that both sides have been able to resolve. The news must be good for Palm, as it is a foregone conclusion that they need to capture more market share in the U.S. market space where Palm still is very popular; and they can’t do this if they can’t get the Pre out to other carriers. Both the Verizon and AT&T releases will be important for the future of the WebOS that powers these latest Palm devices.