The HP Pre 3 may have just had the quietest, most nondescript launch announcement in history: a four line note sent to PreCentral as an update to an existing post. That's right, the Pre 3 is apparently officially available in the UK. Palm's own Eurostore has it for £299.00 ($492.03) unlocked, in fact.

We've been tracking signs for the past week or so after several UK retailers told customers they'd be shipping soon. Sure enough, as PreCentral reports, units have begun shipping to customers today from the likes of Clove.co.uk and Box.co.uk. Faced with the fact that its flagship smartphone for 2011 -- announced more than six months ago -- was just now shipping in a single region, HP released this statement:

HP is excited to begin its regional rollout of Pre3, the only phone today that offers users a slide-out keyboard coupled with a large touchscreen and the fastest speed (1.4GHz processor – the fastest on the market). We expect to share additional information for U.S. customers soon.

Hopefully HP will deign to put out a press release with more details for both continental Europe and the US sometime soon. Even if they don't, it looks like the company is going to just barely make its promised summer release window for the Pre 3.

Source: Palm Eurostore, PreCentral