Fans gather for launch of Palm Pre

By Sinead Carew and Jessica Wohl

NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Small crowds gathered on Saturday for the official launch of Pre, the smartphone seen as Palm Inc's best chance to claw back market share from Apple Inc's iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd's Blackberry.

The new high-end phone, considered a pivotal product for both Palm and Sprint Nextel, has been greeted by rave reviews.

Lines were far shorter than those that snaked around Apple

stores for its first hugely popular iPhone two years ago, but many consumers said they were eager for the new product.

"I wanted their iPhone killer. I've been anticipating this for a while," said Peter Lewis, who bought phones for himself and his wife at a Sprint store in Chicago, where some 45 people were in line when the doors opened at 8 a.m.

"This is my birthday present to myself," said Wilma Rivera, 36, a heating technician who brought her 17-month-old daughter to Sprint's flagship store in Manhattan.

Rivera, a long-time Palm user, said, while she had been tempted by iPhone, sold only by AT&T Inc in the United States, she "never wanted to leave Sprint."

Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile telephone service, is depending on Pre to help stem defections and win back subscribers from rivals such as AT&T and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc.