At a press announcement today at CES, Palm announced a brand spankin’ new handset: the Palm Pre. Running the much-gossiped new Palm WebOS (Not known as “Nova” afterall) and sporting a QWERTY slide-out keyboard below a 3.1″ touchscreen, this might just be enough to get Palm out of their slump.

Here’s what we know so far:

• Sprint-bound EVDO Rev A
• GPS
• 8 GB storage
• 802.11b/g WiFi
• Slideout QWERTY keyboard
• 3.1″ inch touchscreen, 320×480 display
• Accelerometer, Proximity, and Ambient light sensors
• 3.5mm jack
• Removable battery
• 4.8 ounces
• MicroUSB connector
• Mass storage support

At the bottom of the touchscreen is a designated “Gesture area”, where much of the navigation and app control is handled by simple finger flicks.

Word from the press room is that the new handset, and the new WebOS in general, looks like a winner. As Peter put it during the liveblog, “This is like watching a small, old, stinky dog beat a bigger dog. Finally, Palm, finally.”

Check out the liveblog for dozens more pics of the Pre in action (via PowerPoint).

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