Palm's long-awaited Pre smartphone -- the phone that could either turn Palm around or send it down the toilet -- is scheduled to launch before the end of June. Conveniently, the first iPhone 1.0 contracts will also expire in June. So naturally, Palm investor (and our friend) Roger McNamee is making the rounds, stirring the muck. But is he going too far?

"You know the beautiful thing: June 29, 2009, is the two- year anniversary of the first shipment of the iPhone," Roger told Bloomberg. "Not one of those people will still be using an iPhone a month later."

"Think about it -- If you bought the first iPhone, you bought it because you wanted the coolest product on the market," McNamee said. "Your two-year contract has just expired. Look around. Tell me what they’re going to buy."

Well, okay. The Pre looked pretty neat from the videos we've seen, but beating the iPhone is a tall order. Heck, it's possible the Pre will be better. But we're going to reserve judgment until we've had time to spend with one.