At the Palm Pre launch event in New York on Friday, CNET editor Maggie Reardon interviewed Sprint CEO Dan Hesse, who explained that the Palm Pre is exclusive to Sprint for longer than the six months recently reported. Hesse also talked about what Sprint thinks makes the Pre a unique product and answered the question of whether Sprint will ever get the iPhone.

You can also read Reardon’s follow-up article. Here’s a video of Reardon’s interview with Hesse:

The statement from Hesse about the exclusivity deal contradicts the recent pronouncement from Verizon CEO Lowell McAdam in which he said, “Over the next six months or so you’ll see devices like the Palm Pre and a cousin” coming to Verizon.

As such, “or so” could mean a little more than six months or it could mean that Verizon will get a device “like the Palm Pre” from Palm but that it will have a different product name. That could be supported by the notion that Verizon will also be getting “a cousin” to the Pre from Palm, possibly something like the rumored Palm EOS.