It’s not the first GSM Palm Pre we’ve seen – in fact the company brought a handful along to Mobile World Congress back in February - but this in-the-wild video of the smartphone over in Vietnam does suggest mass production is underway.  Things behind the Pre’s battery cover seem little changed from the pre-production units we caught on camera, with the SIM slot notched into place next to the battery.

It’s still something of a disappointment that Palm couldn’t find room to squeeze in a microSD card slot, along with the SIM card reader.  With the arrival of the iPhone 3GS and its 32GB maximum storage, the Pre’s 8GB is starting to look even more pokey.

A European release is still expected in the second half of 2009 – and yes, we know that kicks off in a day or two – with talk back in March that O2 and Movistar had clinched exclusivity.  Still, no sign of any more details on Palm’s site (nor that of the carriers) and the recent financial results call was devoid of availability revelations.

[via Engadget]