HP has released the Pre 3. You might not have known about it, since there were no press releases or fanfare outside of the huge HP event six months ago. The Pre 3 is apparently available for pre-order from Palm’s Euro Store and several third party retailers. From what we are hearing, Palm’s own store is lagging shipments, while third parties shipped out yesterday. In fact, it shouldn’t be much longer before we see a few Pre 3 unboxings on YouTube. That left most wondering when the US would see the Pre 3. HP reached out to responded to an inquiry from PreCentral, to let us know the following:

HP is excited to begin its regional rollout of Pre3, the only phone today that offers users a slide-out keyboard coupled with a large touchscreen and the fastest speed (1.4GHz processor – the fastest on the market). We expect to share additional information for U.S. customers soon.

No carrier announcements in the US. No reviews. Just a few users who paid full price at random third party retailers in Europe. If the plan was to keep the Pre 3 under the radar, then job well done.

You have to wonder if US carriers have agreed to carry the Pre 3 and what happens to webOS if they are no longer interested in the platform? The Pre 3 is looking more and more like the Pre 2. Yet another stopgap device with minimal marketing and minimal release plans. Last night’s report that Best Buy is having trouble selling the HP TouchPad just adds to the pain.

Source: PreCentral, Palm Euro Store