I will probably purchase a PS3 this year, but I personally believe it's a matter of time before Dual Shock 3 is standard (i know Sony stated otherwise, and they'll keep saying it wont happen until suddenly it does).  I think it sucks to be an early adopter of the PS3 in this regard, and have no intention of buying a rumble-less PS3 only to have Sony release it as standard a month later.

Does anyone care to speculate on when the DS3 will be standard with each PS3?  More specifically, when will it come to PAL regions?  Some people may have seen my thread on the rumours of an 80gb SKU in Australia (and perhaps the wider PAL region), and I would view it's introduction as the perfect time to bring in DS3. 

My guess is the next SKU... my guess is 3-6 months.

You reckon 3-6 months in Australia/PAL??? Or in the USA? Remember that Australia doesn't even have stand-alone Dualshock 3 controllers available.

when the next sku/design is released... there's obviously demand for DS3, Sony would be stupid to not take advantage.

I agree. Take me for example. I want to own a PS3 as it would mean I possess all three consoles and remove any notion that I might miss out on a game this generation. That said, I'm not stupid enough to purchase an over-priced 40gb right now when I know there is a great chance that it'll soon have BC and rumble at the same price and maybe a larger hard-drive. So if anyone would like to take an educated stab at how long I'll have to wait????

I think in fall 08 the DS3 will become the standard pack-in controller

You reckon it will take that long. Surely Sony doesn't have so much existing stock on shelves that they need to wait eight months plus to reinstate rumble as standard?