Monday: analyst with no verifiable sources and a sketchy track record claims that the Eos could be 'delayed' to 2010.

Tuesday: DigiTimes, an online site with no clear sources and a sketchy track record claims that the Eos is going to be shipped to Palm HQ in October. [Thanks, Phil!]

Wednesday: We shrug our shoulders and dutifully report that silly season for the Palm Eos is officially in full swing.

The DigiTimes story claims that Compal (also cited that sketchy story from March) will start "volume shipments" of the Eos to Palm in October, eventually expecting to hit 400,000 to 500,00 units shipped in the fourth quarter.

This early Eos is to be the GSM/HSPA version for AT&T, while the Sprint version is to show up in 2010, as expected by our previously-mentioned analyst.

If true, it doesn't necessarily mean that the Eos will ship to customers as early as October, as we haven't yet seen the traditional cell phone cycle of leaks, spottings, regulatory filings, and carrier testing (we love and hate that last step, as it is the source of leaks and also of delays).

Also, if true, 400,000 within a quarter is an aggressive but necessary target for the Eos. The device, if you'll recall, is meant to be a sort of low-end Pre, a Centro replacement. It is expected to sport a 320x400 screen and 4 gigs of storage instead of the Pre's 8. It may also have a less powerful processor.  Low specs means lower pricing means lower margins for Palm -- who will need to make up that difference on volume.