Sneaky Sling, slipping one right under everyone's noses -- just yesterday we happened to be pondering to ourselves why they'd develop a Windows Mobile Slingplayer client and announce their intentions to develop a Symbian version, but not do one for Palm OS? (Yes, we really do think about this stuff in our spare time.) The side of the new Slingbox boxes, as we know, clearly show Windows 2000, XP, Vista, and Mobile logos, Mac and Symbian support (which is a little unfair considering neither client is out even in beta yet) -- as well as an innocuous black sticker we totally didn't even notice. That is, until our pal Dave peeled it off and revealed the Palm logo, too. Maybe it was just too soon to pre-announce, maybe maybe they're going to wait for ALP before they make a move on Palm, or maybe they just killed their Palm client plans -- we don't know, but for our many Treo using friends, you've now a bit more hope than you did yesterday for getting your place shifting on without having to finally let go of Palm.

P.S. -We pinged Sling to see what's going on, but we're still waiting back for the official word back. Stay tuned for more info.
P.P.S. -Did anyone else notice Sling recognized the Engadget Award they received last year? Nice! (Picture after the break.)

Update: Ok, we just got off the horn with Sling. So, the same with their forthcoming Symbian client, consumers can in fact expect a Palm client! (Huzzah!) Unfortunately, Sling would not comment on whether this would be a Palm OS or ALP-based product, nor would they give any timeframe of release for it or the Symbian version. (Boo!) Sling told us they're working with partners on the two client releases (no, they wouldn't tell us which ones, either); as packaging was being completed and units were being shipped to retail, Sling apparently mis-predicted the Symbian and Mac clients' readiness (thus leaving them unstickered) -- but successfully estimated the Palm client would not be ready at the time of launch. So, what have we learned? Mac client: soon. Symbian client: probably lined up to be the next after the Mac client. Palm client: probably going to be the last.

Update 2: Interesting! So a very trustworthy insider let us know that we can apparently expect the Symbian client within 30 days, and the Palm client in Q4. Believe it if you want, but it definitely make sense as to why Symbian was so close to the cutoff.