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Palm Inc. released their third-quarter revenue today for the period ended Feb. 27, and it doesn't look great for the company behind the highly anticipated webOS Pre handset. InformationWeek reports that Palm revenue was in the ballpark of $85-90 million, a huge drop from the $150 million expected on Wall Street.

Several reasons were given for the poor showing, including the tough economic times, further delays of the Treo Pro handset, and ironically, a self-inflicted wound from the high anticipation for the Palm Pre. Bloomberg also reported on the release, with Boston analyst Matt Thornton stating: "The fiscal 2010 sales assumptions were going to be low for the Treo or Centro, now they are going to be even lower...Everyone's waiting for the Pre."

With no new devices as of late, Palm is banking on the Pre for a big showing on release. CEO Ed Colligan issued a statement soon after the news:

The much-anticipated launch of the Palm Pre remains on track for the first half of calendar year 2009, but as expected we’ve got a difficult transition period to work through. Despite the challenging market environment, the extraordinary response to the Palm Pre and the new Palm webOS reaffirms our confidence in our long-term prospects and our ability to reestablish Palm as the leading innovator in the growing smartphone market.

For the past two weeks, Palm Infocenter has given a summary of Palm's launch partners that were first introduced by CEO Ed Colligan at the CES 2009 presentation. This week, they conclude their analysis with six more third-party teammates that Palm is assembling for the launch of the Pre.

The final chapter focuses on MovieTickets.com, Fandango, SplashData, AOL, TeleNav, and Chapura. They also touch on the prospects of future connections with Microsoft, Twitter, and eBay.

Earlier, we began compiling a list of informative articles in regards to the Apple vs. Palm debate, the ongoing patent battle involving Apple's multitouch technology. With the release of the Pre nearing, more articles are focusing on side-by-side comparisons of the Pre and iPhone hardware; with detailed charts, webOS and OSX comparisons, and giving reasons why one should be better than the other.

While we may be biased towards webOS and the Pre, that shouldn't keep you from making an informed choice for your next handset. Below is a list of the articles (most recent first) that should be a valuable resource in sizing up these two smartphone heavyweights:

Precentral found that "an anonymous report" claims that due to security issues, testing on the Pre is going to take longer than expected. Also in their forums, the Pre is rumored to have two more rounds of testing, with the first not beginning until April 1st. Both sources say a realistic release date is in June.

This follows on the heels of rumors at PrePoint posted earlier this month that the Pre may not have passed FCC testing. The Pre is widely known to have a release date in the first half of 2009, with some leaked EOL reports suggesting a May release to replace the Treo 755P. 

The Pre could be staying with Sprint for a while in the US, but that didn't stop it from making the rounds on Palm's international websites. Just recently during the Mobile World Conference 2009 in Barcelona, the Pre appeared on the UK website. The Palm WebOS Blog noticed it silently making it's way onto an additional 16 official portals, including countries from Europe, Latin America, and the Asian Pacific.

This should be big news to Pre fans worldwide; however there is still no word of international carriers, other than the fact that a European UMTS version is official and a GSM version exists, spotted with a Vodafone sim card at MWC 2009. Bell Canada has been rumored to be next in line for North America.

Barron's reported today that Deutsche Bank analyst Jonathan Goldberg raised his rating on Palm Inc. from "hold" to "buy", increasing his target from $6 up to $10. This gave Palm stocks a quick lift, rising 26 cents in just an hour of opening, up to $7.83. In the past year, prices have ranged from a low of $1.14 (before the Pre was announced), to a high of $9.51 more recently. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Goldberg stated:

By far the most exciting mobile phone we saw at last week's Mobile World Congress was the Palm Pre. We found a lot of carrier interest in the device as well...Palm has been beaten down for so long that even a modest success could generate significant earnings leverage.

He added that there are "clear signs" that Palm is capable of executing the Pre launch on time and to plan. Forbes also reported on the story, with Goldberg estimating that the Sprint version should be ready to ship "in a month or so", while the European UMTS version seen at the MWC could be ready in six to nine months.

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If so, now might be a good time to get on their fan lists. Engaget reported today that snapshots were shown of stars handling the Pre at the IFC Independent Spirit Awards in Santa Monica. Earlier, they reported on a $5600 swag bag offered to nominees attending the event including the fancy handset, with the Pre available "by July" in fine print.

However, a recent photo shows Buffy and Angel star Eliza Dushku quite comfortable with a nicely-illuminated Pre handset at the awards show, which was held on the 21st.

Looks like comments from Palm made at MWC 2009 in regards to a European version of the Pre have some backing to them. Just today, Palm unveiled the webOS-enabled Pre on their UK website, with the slogan "Coming soon!" in bold and a picture of the sleek new handheld. While it's merely at teaser page at this point (with the only option to sign up for news on the Pre's availablity), the new site should be met with plenty of anticipation from the other side of the Atlantic.

Right now, it's anyone's guess as to which carrier will be the first to have the Pre outside of the US, although sightings of a Pre with a Vodafone SIM card have been made at the MWC 2009. Engadget is quick to point out though, that the stock image on the new site is not that of a GSM Pre. Meanwhile, Palm has confirmed development of a UMTS version of the phone to be used in Europe, although no decision has been made in regards to a carrier.

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