Palm has released further information about its hotly-anticipated Pre device this week amid rumours that further US mobile operators may offer the handset. The device is scheduled to launch exclusively in the US via Sprint on 6 June, but reports this week suggest that both Sprint’s two larger rivals – AT&T and Verizon Wireless – are also interested in carrying the device. According to a Reuters report, Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam said the Pre would be among a range of new devices set for launch by the operator in the next six months, alongside new devices from RIM (BlackBerry) and Motorola, and new devices based on Google’s Android. Similarly, Reuters reported comments from AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, suggesting AT&T was also looking to carry the device soon. Shares in Palm rose 8.8 percent yesterday on the news of further operator support for its new flagship device. However, a Sprint spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires that its exclusive deal to offer the Pre lasted “at least” until the end of 2009.

Meanwhile, Dow Jones Newswires reports that Palm used this week’s All Things Digital conference in California to release more details on the Pre, including a service that will allow users to download music directly from Apple’s iTunes music store. The service is seen as a way of directly competing with Apple’s iPhone. Palm said the Pre will also ship with its own applications store (similar to Apple’s App Store). Palm’s executive chairman Jon Rubinstein also hinted that rival companies in the smartphone space are looking at using the Pre operating system as the basis for their devices. “We have designed it to work across a variety of products,” Rubinstein said.