Yesterday there was a furious rumor circulating that the Palm Pre was delayed until the 2nd half of 2009. Sprint and Palm have repeatedly said that the Palm Pre will launch in the 1st half of 2009 and I’m here to tell you that this estimation HAS NOT CHANGED. The Palm Pre is, at the moment of this post, still on track to launch in the 1st half of 2009 – most likely in June.

The rumor originated from the Commercial Times who stated that Palm, “will be forced to postpone its shipments of smartphones to Palm from mid-year to the end of the year…” and furthermore that, “Palm’s two smartphones will be delayed as Compal is waiting for Qualcomm’s new chipset solutions that will enable better performance.”

But last week, DigiTimes reported that it was Chi Mei Communication Systems, not Compal, that would be assembling the Palm Pre innards. If the Commercial Times article is accurate in any way, shape or form it is probably referring to the production and shipment of Windows Mobile based Palm devices.

And to completely obliterate the rumor, Palm went on the record with Engadget Mobile saying:

“No change in our previously announced plan to have the Pre available in the first half of 2009.”

Collective sigh of relief.