A leaked memo has outed June 26 as the starting date when Best Buy (and possibly other places, if this is a Microsoft-blessed program) will guarantee a free copy of Windows 7 at its launch if you buy a Vista-based system immediately. The memo itself is actually a bit catty, saying that Windows 7 isn’t just a “Vista that works” — cold as ice, Best Buy. But the point of that little crack is more that Best Buy employees should really be pushing this as a major update, to allay the fears of people who might be afraid 7 is just an updated Vista. Still, ouch.

Well, it seems like that rumor of each Best Buy store only getting four Pres each has been busted. EverythingPre’s forum member atlanta has posted a bunch screenshots showing Best Buy’s expected inventory levels for the Pre. Most stores are getting slightly more than four phones, and a lot getting dramatically more.

So long as there is blood coursing through my dumb veins I will never shop at Best Buy again. Why? Because I feel the store’s anti-shoplifting measures went above and beyond what’s necessary at the weekend. Let me explain.

Well, it’s not the news we were expecting but it looks like Best Buy will be getting a new PS3 bundle a week after E3. Already in the BB database is a limited edition 80GB PlayStation 3 bundle that includes two yet to be announced games.

We knew that the initial stock of Palm Pres was going to be light, but only 4 per Best Buy store seems down right suicidal. The total amount of Palm Pres in Best Buy’s inventory will be 4,250, which works out to be 4 per store according to one source. Better go dig out the sleeping bag and lawn chair now if you were planning on getting a Pre on June 6th

With retail electronics stores closing down faster than the backwards-spinning water in an Australian toilet bowl, Best Buy is now trying to figure out how to compete with remaining high-volume, low-price super retailers like Wal-Mart.

And while trying to take on Wal-Mart’s ultra aggressive pricing isn’t necessarily in the cards, “Best Buy supposedly intends to create differentiation by playing up its product demonstration ability,” according to Electronic House.

If all these games are really going for $10 each, you better take out some loans. Sure, I expect stuff like Petz Crazy Monkeys and Shrek Carnival Craze to go for that much, but Soul Calibur 4? Fracture? Not bad at all.

Head on through for the full listing.

Once upon a Best Buy, in a sealed Western Digital VelociRaptor 250GB drive box, there lived an ancient 30GB drive called a Quantum Fireball, from Maxtor. It sounds like the beginning to a really nerdy fairy tale, where maybe the Fireball ends up outperforming the Raptor, but no. It’s more of a corporate ripoff story.

BestBuy.com has the Sony VAIO P (don’t call it a netbook!) in a rainbow of fashionable colors up for pre-order. It’s an online-only affair but let’s say, for the sake or argument, you have a Best Buy credit card and you want to take advantage of 18-month interest-free financing.

Best Buy is ready to take orders for the Palm Treo Pro for those not willing to wait for the Sprint-subsidized model. It’s going to take a special (read: loaded) gadget freak to plop down seven large on a WinMob phone that’s backordered until the middle of February which is when the phone is rumored to launch on Sprint anyway

It’s not quite a price cut, but it’s the next best thing. Walk into your local Best Buy and you should be able to pick up a 32-inch 1080o Sony Bravia and an 80GB PS3 for $1,100. That’s about $300 less than you’d pay for the two items separately.

The above image from Mobility Today is self explanatory, isn’t it? The Treo Pro has been delayed until February 15th according to a Best Buy Mobile employee. That stinks considering the fact that they’re in stock right now and were supposed to go on sale tomorrow.

Circuit City’s Canadian operations have been in question ever since the US locations started showing signs of death. CircuitCity.com had previously stated that the Canadian locations would operate normally but that doesn’t seem the case as all 765 stores are headed to the auction block this week. The Source, as the stores are called in Canadaland, were previously purchased from Radio Shack by Circuit City in 2004 and now might change hands again. Rumor has it that Best Buy wants the 765 retail locations.

If the latest Internet rumor is true, Best Buy Mobile is going to be the only place – besides Sprint stores – you will be able to pick up the hot Palm Pre. It seems that the boys in blue will have an exclusive for 60 days. While this is simple just a rumor, it isn’t unrealalistic and might work in Sprint’s favor.

The $299 Internet-Connected GPS from Best Buy’s “Insignia” house brand features a cool built-in cellular connection, allowing you to harness the power of Google to find stores, restaurants, cheap gas, and more while on the go. However, the lackluster UI and relatively high price tag hold back an otherwise awesome combination of GPS and data services.

As I recall we had an issue a few months back with another big box store but someone just caught Best Buy also using HDMI cables and comparing them to component cables. Consumerist just found another example. While this is obviously a massive fraud it might have been the only way the Best Buy folks could think to stream the same signal from the Blu-Ray player to both TVs – besides, obviously, using two Blu-Ray players.

Target’s upcoming CrunchDeal on seven cross-platform titles may not be of interest to you, but this one from Best Buy might be for the PS3 owners in the audience. Sorry Wii and Xbox 360 owners, but you’re SOL on this one.