The highly anticipated Palm Pre is still making the headlines around the Web, this time the news regarding the possible launch date of the high-end mobile phone on the European market. After waiting for about five long months to learn when the Pre will come to the US market, it seems that the rumor cycle is starting again, this time with presumed release dates for the UK.

According to the latest news, the Palm Pre is expected to come to the UK market on June 18, and it should arrive on the airwaves of O2. This piece of information comes from a Tweeter post from a person who supposedly is a retentions manager at O2, and seems to have been backed up via an article from the Guardian, though an official confirmation in this regard is yet to be offered.

Although the Palm Pre was initially expected to be launched in the UK via Vodafone, it seems that O2 got luckier and managed to score a deal for the device, something that should help the carrier boost its sales a little, especially since it also has the iPhone exclusively in the country. As for the release date, it seems that UK mobile phone users who would like to grab the Pre will have to wait until around Christmas before they will be able to do so.

Given the fact that Sprint will release the Pre into the wild as soon as June 6, there is still hope that the phone will become available in other markets sooner than the holidays season, for there are no less than six months until then, and the idea of having it so late does not appeal to anyone. For the time being, it seems that O2 hasn't commented on the news story, but it is expected to say something about it in the near future, probably even announcing that the device will come sooner.