It sounds like Palm Pre buyers should be prepared for potential disappointment on June 6th, as there’s talk of limited numbers of the smartphone being available at launch.  Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has told investors that the reason for the relatively low volume of Pre advertising is because the carrier expects shortages.

“We don’t intend to advertise it heavily early on because we think we are going to have shortages for a while. We won’t be able to keep up with demand for the device in the early period of time.” Dan Hesse, CEO, Sprint

That tallies with MobileBurn’s source, who suggested that there would be less than 30,000 units available at launch.  It’s not clear whether that figure refers to the total number of Pre handsets available, or merely one retail channel’s allotment; the Pre will go on sale not only through Sprint stores and the carrier’s website, but at Best Buy, Radio Shack and selected Wal-Mart stores.

Less than 30,000 in total is difficult to swallow, suggesting that many would-be buyers will be left not only unsatisfied by Sprint and Palm, but dropped into the lap of Apple who are expected to announce their next-gen iPhone a few days after the Pre’s launch.  The new Apple smartphone is tipped to arrive on July 17th.  At least one analyst has already suggested that the Pre launch would be a disappointment, with hardware and software issues holding up production.