When a Russian website leaked the price of the Palm Pre a couple days ago, the wind disappeared from the sails of many Palm enthusiasts. Rumor had it that the Palm Pre would be $399 and after Palm CEO Ed Colligan made remarks suggesting it would be idiotic NOT to price it above the iPhone, it seemed like a dissapointing destiny.

But that is not the case. The Russian website has since clarified it’s position, saying that the prices they mentioned were without contract. They now insist that Palm is considering several prices including $499/$399 without contract and $199/$149 with contract. Of course, the actual pricepoint would depend on market conditions and competitive pressures closer to the release date – expected this summer.

That’s good  news all around for anyone wanting a Palm Pre. And there are a lot of you, which brings up an unfortunate circumstance. Palm will only be manufacturing 200,000 units of the Pre for its initial run. The reason? They’re limited by the manufacturing capacity of the touchscreen.

At least knowing you won’t have to pay an arm and a leg when it arrives makes the wait a little better.