The comments come ahead of Sprint's long-awaited Saturday, June 6, launch of Pre and the expected announcement of a new iPhone from Apple in the week after that.

Top executives from both Palm and Sprint have said they expect Pre shortages around the launch due to strong demand. Palm said that the device would include a universal search service that will let users to search everything from their phone contacts list to popular micro-blogging site Twitter or web encyclopedia Wikipedia.

Palm said the device's operating system, webOS, also allows Pre to synchronize with iTunes, Apple's popular music software, so users can easily transfer music, photos and video to their phone.

McAdam's announcement was also a boost for Motorola Inc, which has been steadily losing market share and is pinning its hopes on the launch of a new line-up of advanced phones based on Android later this year.

AT&T is the exclusive US provider for iPhone and derives much of its customer growth from the wildly popular and much imitated touchscreen device.

Verizon's McAdam said that multiple device launches for the rest of this year would ensure his company is not be dependent on any one phone for keeping customers and winning new ones.

Verizon Wireless is already the exclusive US carrier for the first BlackBerry Storm launched by Research In Motion late last year. While reviews of the first Storm were mixed, Verizon had said Jan. 28 that it had sold 1 million phones since the device's Nov. 21 launch.

McAdam said Verizon Wireless said Tour would be a new upscale BlackBerry, that that company expects to sell along with Storm in the next six months or so.