It certainly didn’t take long for a few storm clouds to appear over the otherwise glittering launch of the Palm Pre. At a press conference Friday, Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse took issue with media suggestions that the much-anticipated smartphone would be available from Verizon Wireless in six months or so. “They need to check their facts,” Hesse said. “That just is not the case. Both Palm and Sprint have agreed not to discuss the length of the exclusivity deal. But I can tell you it’s not six months.” Some analysts have suggested that while Sprint may have a contractual lock on the Pre hardware, other companies (such as Verizon) will soon have the ability to offer devices that use Palm’s new mobile operating system, webOS. So far, however, those speculations are unconfirmed. Rebranding Sprint The spat over just how long Sprint will have exclusive rights to the Pre helps underscore just how important this product launch is to the beleaguered telecommunications

company. In fact, the mere suggestion that Sprint’s exclusive rights might be shorter than anticipated caused a sharp drop in the company’s stock price Thursday. Over the last couple of years, the company has been struggling to retain customers in the face of lagging technology and reports of poor customer service. In fact, Hesse came on board specifically to help burnish the company’s tarnished reputation. During his presentation of the Palm Pre, Hesse praised the “new Sprint,” which he said is reflected in much better customer service, an increasingly powerful and reliable cellular network, and growing capital resources. “We’re a very different company than we were 12 months ago,” Hesse declared. “The Pre is the coming-out party for the new Sprint, to show off the new Sprint.” Emphasis on Business Customers Although the Pre has routinely been described in the tech media as a potential “iPhone killer,”…

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Verizon’s Palm Pre Noise Is Pre-Mature, Sprint Says