Those of you thinking that it would be to your advantage to get a contract-free Palm Pre from Best Buy might want to rethink your strategy based on what we've just learned about Best Buy's pricing for the Palm Pre.

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According to the info provided on their website, the contract-free Palm Pre will set you back a whopping $849.99. That’s almost $150 cheaper than what was rumored to be its price before, nonetheless, that’s still a steep asking price for the Palm Pre which will retail for a more reasonable $199.99 on a 2-yr contract with Sprint. Sprint hasn't officially unveiled their complete pricing scheme for the Palm Pre, but rumor is than their plan to sell the contract-free Palm Pre for just $550. That’s definitely way more reasonable that the $850 price of Best Buy, but being that it’s just a rumor, the sad truth is that the $850 contract-free price might be the real cost of the Palm Pre sans any subsidies in effect. Bell, likewise, hasn't announced their pricing for the Palm Pre yet.

Anyway, we’ve only got two weeks left before the Palm Pre is officially available in the market, so we'll know how much the contract-free unit will actually cost soon enough. Let’s just hope that the contract-free price of the Palm Pre gets adjusted to a more affordable price point.

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