The last couple of weeks have been laden with Palm Pre rumors. Whether it’s the price or the launch there’s been plenty of Pre talk. So what’s this new Mini-Pre?

TechCrunch today reports that while digging through information trying to come up with something new relating to the Pre launch-date, a Pre source told them that there’s a second Pre-like device hitting shelves in the second half of the year, perhaps as early as the Fall.

As TechCrunch points out, that’s way too soon for a second generation device – Palm wouldn’t release the second iteration of the Pre without giving the first version a fighting chance and a couple of months isn’t a fair shot – so what’s with the new Pre-like device? TC came to the conclusion that Palm has been listening to everyone harp on about an iPhone Nano and is jumping ahead of Apple to offer users a stripped down version of the smartphone, with less features but the same hot look. We’re not so sure.

The Pre represents a whole new direction for the Palm. It’s the company’s first touchscreen device as well as the first device to use Palm’s new WebOS. What’s more likely is Palm will carry on this new sleek look and of course, the new OS, to future releases. This Pre-like device could be either a new, sleek device packing the new OS, or it could be Palm’s first touchscreen without a physical keyboard. There’s little else in the way of information but the imminent launch of the Pre might shed some light on the situation.