At an official Palm (NSDQ: PALM) Pre press event this morning, Sprint’s CEO Dan Hesse said today that the reports saying the company will have the device on an exclusive basis for six months are wrong. According to CNet, Hesse said: “They need to check their facts. That just is not the case. Both Palm and Sprint have agreed not to discuss the length of the exclusivity deal. But I can tell you it’s not six months.”

SEE ALSO: Bottomline: Sprint’s Exclusive On The Palm Pre Lasts About Six Months

Last week, Reuters quoted Lowell McAdam, Verizon’s CEO, as saying in a webcast that over the next six months consumers could expect to see devices “like the Palm Pre and a second-generation Storm” on its network.  Shortly after the story was published, a Verizon (NYSE: VZ) Wireless’s spokesperson Jeffrey Nelson posted a message on Twitter, saying: “VZW CEO: We will have the Pre. Didn’t say when, but it’ll be part of our portfolio. Lowell did say a lot of new devices over next 6 months.” The message may have been implying that the timing could have been off.

But there was plenty of information that followed to make the statement sound totally believable. A Sprint spokesperson confirmed to Dow Jones: “We have the Pre through 2009.” Even the NYTimes stated the time line as fact. In David Pogue’s glowing review, he wrote: “Especially when you consider that Verizon Wireless has announced that it will carry the Pre ‘in the next six months or so.’ Can you imagine how great that will be? One of the world’s best phones on the nation’s best cell network?” And, if subsequent messages on Twitter from Nelson are any indication, he has not been shy in saying Verizon could have it “soon.” On Wednesday, he wrote: “Want to get the Palm Pre now, it has to be on Sprint’s network. Want a reliable Palm Pre? Want a few - Verizon will have it soon.” Yesterday, he was just as bullish: “Get the Palm Pre now on Sprint (NYSE: S). Or wait a minute until you can get it on the Verizon network. Not a tough choice.” Of course, “soon” is subjective.