Palm Pixi Review

Best Twitter apps for Palm Pre and Pixi smartphones

2009-12-31T10:34:00.001+08:00

Two Palm webOS users have recently posted their reviews of the current crop of Twitter apps, both free and paid, for the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi smartphones. Their summary: There's plenty available, from the barest of bare bones to powerful, full-function tweet machines.

Dan Ramirez is a "self-confessed iPhone-turned-Palm-Pre fan boy" according to his Twitter profile (@vara411). On his blog, Totally Palmed, he reviews a half dozen webOS Twitter applications for Palm's Pre and Pixi smartphones, all available on the Palm App Catalog.

Mobile developer, and recent webOS convert, Roy Sutton, founder of Pre101.com, offers his thoughts on the same apps, but dives in a bit deeper.

NW's Keith Shaw on Palm Pre: The official Cool Tools review

Palm has been enduring a drumbeat of criticism because its online App Catalog has only a fraction of the applications found on Apple's App Store for the iPhone. Developers haven't flocked to the innovative webOS yet, though those that have rate it highly for its capabilities and ease of development.

That might be about to change. Palm just made generally available the Ares toolkit, which lets you build webOS applications with a Web browser. And, at January's Consumer Electronics Show, the company will unveil a key OS update, which will boost battery life, software performance, Wi-Fi speeds and handset responsiveness.

But today, you have a half dozen applications from which to choose for working with Twitter.

Ramirez's top choice seems to be Tweed, from Pivotal Labs, $1.99, followed closely by Twee, from Digital Morsel, $2.99. He likes the wide range of features and functions in the first, though he considers the UI itself pretty plain; the second has a richer UI, lacking some of the features in the first but adding some others (such as thumbnails of pictures).

Sutton echoes those judgments. Tweed's UI is minimalist, he says, but not its functionality. "In Tweed's design, all of the functionality is hidden behind a bright blue button on the top right. When you click on it you find everything you could want in Twitter app. More importantly, all the functionality works very well."

On Twee, Sutton confesses "I love the look of Twee." But he discovered an odd memory utilization issue: Twee spawns a second process that keeps running even when the app is shut down. It's not related to the notifications service, but it doesn't seem to take up much memory and Sutton didn't identify any specific problems resulting from this oddity.

There's also a free version, Twee Free, which drops notifications, nearby tweet search, Twitturly, and StockTwits.

The other four Twitter apps for webOS are:

* Spaz, from Funkatron Productions -- the only open-source webOS Twitter app that's also free. Sutton: "The look and feel of Spaz is solid, but there isn't anything that you haven't seen before." He says a paid version is rumored to be in the works.

* TinyTwitter from Tiny Byte Productions -- $1.99. Ramirez: Very fast, in part because it's stripped down to the most basic Twitter features (doesn't include "search", for example).Sutton: It doesn't match up to its paid rivals.

* Yak from JM Productions -- $2.99. Ramirez: Fast like TinyTwitter, with more features; Ramirez experienced some connection issues while using it. Sutton: "Does everything you need a twitter app to do?but it doesn't do anything else." (The only link for JM Productions has nothing more than a second link for "Palm webOS app support". When you click on that, it bring you to a third page with a single link, for "e-mail support."

* FleetTweet from 8bit development -- free. This app does one thing -- lets you post tweets. It's "free" but is supported by ads. Sutton: "I am all about simple apps with a laser focus, but this one strikes me as toooo simple."

Original story - www.networkworld.com/nwlookup.jsp?rid=195695

Source: John Cox, Network World (Tuesday, December 22, 2009)

Palm Smartphone Sales Slip as It Struggles to Turn Around

2009-12-30T10:30:00.000+08:00

Palm’s reboot is under way, but it has yet to prove that it can turn around its fortunes.

Palm, which makes smartphones like the Pre and Pixi, said Thursday that its sales declined slightly from the previous quarter, although they were still up sharply from a year ago.

The company trimmed its net loss and said it had shipped a total of 783,000 smartphones to retailers in its fiscal second quarter, which ended Nov. 27. That was up 41 percent compared with the second quarter last year, but down 5 percent compared with the first quarter.

Over all, the company’s revenue and profit fell below Wall Street’s expectations. Furthermore, an important measure of customer interest in its phones, the sell-through rate, suggested that its new devices were not flying off retailers’ shelves. Palm said customers bought 573,000 units, down 29 percent from the first quarter and down 4 percent year over year.

“We’re still in the early stages of a long race,” Jonathan J. Rubinstein, chief executive of the company, said in a statement. For the second quarter, the company reported a net loss of $85.4 million, or 54 cents a share, compared with a loss of $508.6 million or $4.64 a share, in the same period a year earlier, which included a charge for a tax provision.

Because of a change in the way the company recorded revenue for its newest phones — during the fourth quarter, it began spreading revenue and expenses over a two-year period — it reported two sets of quarterly results Thursday. Adjusting for the deferrals, revenue was $302 million, compared with Wall Street expectations of $266.2 million, according to a poll by Thomson Reuters, and the loss was 37 cents a share, compared with a consensus forecast of a loss of 32 cents a share.

Using the same type of accounting adjustments, the company would have reported revenue of $191.6 million and a loss of 73 cents a share in the same quarter last year.

Investors appeared to react negatively to the news, with shares declining more than 8 percent in after-hours trading.

Shaw Wu, an analyst with Kaufman Brothers, said that Palm’s biggest challenge will be getting consumers and carriers to choose its product over many rival smartphones.

“The issue is not the product. The big concern for investors is Palm’s current lack of profitability,” Mr. Wu said. “Palm needs to focus on their operations and introduce more carriers to have broader distribution.”

Mr. Wu estimates that Palm could ship as many as 3.86 million smartphones in the fiscal year ending in May 2010.

The company has high hopes that a sleek stable of smartphones running on its speedy new operating system, WebOS, would help revive its finances and reputation. Mr. Rubinstein acknowledged that Palm had faced competition from rival handsets, including the Apple iPhone, the BlackBerry devices from Research In Motion, and the Motorola Droid.

“We are investing heavily in marketing to drive better awareness of our products,” he said during a call with investors.

In June, the company introduced the Pre as the cornerstone its new lineup, to largely positive reviews. Recently, it began selling a slimmed-down version of the Pre called the Pixi. In the United States, both phones are available only for Sprint Nextel’s network.

Michael Gartenberg, vice president for strategy and analysis at Interpret, a market research firm based in Los Angeles and New York said that Palm had done better than expected, considering that the new WebOS phones have been on the market only a short while and with a single carrier. “They can definitely still carve out a space in the mobile game,” he said.

But he cautioned that the company would have to do more to capture market share in a crowded landscape. “Palm is going to have to sustain the velocity they started in 2009,” he said.

Contributing to Palm’s sluggish sales, analysts say, has been a dearth of applications, the quirky bite-size programs that can perform various functions like mapping or social networking, for Palm’s smartphones.

To help establish a thriving system for software developers, the company announced the public release of a tool called Project Ares that allows developers to create and release applications for the Palm Pre and Pixi through a Web browser. Palm hopes Project Ares will significantly lower the barrier to entry for mobile developers looking to write programs for WebOS, Mr. Rubinstein said.

“There is a big opportunity in front of us as a company,” Mr. Rubinstein said. “Ultimately, our success is around our execution.”

Source: nytimes | JENNA WORTHAM (Published: December 17, 2009)

Palm Releases WebOS Update for Pre, Pixi

2009-12-30T10:25:00.000+08:00

Palm releases updates for the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi OS. WebOS 1.3.5 offers fixes, conveniences and a smoother user experience for both Palm smartphones.

Palm has introduced an update to its WebOS, the platform run by the Palm Pre and the Palm Pixi, both of which, in the United States, are exclusive to the Sprint Nextel network.

With WebOS 1.3.5, available as of Dec. 28, Palm offers updates, improvements and a housecleaning of what were likely irritating, early snafus. For example, files with a .3g2 extension now correctly play as audio files, not video files; the Web browser now supports animated GIF files; and a user’s default e-mail signature now displays the Pre product name correctly.

Palm has also improved the application download experience for its App Catalog, and users can now download multiple applications at once, as well as pause, resume and cancel downloads. They can also enable downloads to continue in the background while other screens are navigated and use the full storage capacity of the phone for downloading apps.

A full erase of the device can be performed more easily with 1.3.5, and users can edit forwarded text for all e-mail account types and launch Sprint Navigation from an address in an open contact entry. Apps can now also be purchased from U.S. territories.

There are additionally small conveniences—when the screen is locked, the time is displayed in a different font—and bits of streamlining: When the user has “network time zone” enabled, the city and country are no longer displayed.

In September, Palm announced it would stop launching devices running Microsoft’s mobile operating system, in favor of focusing on WebOS, which is gradually gaining market share. According to AdMob, which measures ad requests, Palm garnered 4 percent of U.S. Web market share within two months of the Pre’s debut. In September, Palm smartphone traffic accounted for 13 percent U.S. smartphone traffic, which put it in fourth place, just behind RIM and HTC. The clear leader, with 48 percent of smartphone ad requests, was Apple.

On Dec. 17, Palm announced greater-than-expected quarterly losses, but said it had shipped 783,000 smartphones during the quarter, which was a 41 percent improvement over the last year and exceeded analysts’ expectations.

Source: Eweek | Michelle Maisto (2009-12-29)

Palm Pixi Officially Launched

2009-11-16T12:29:00.001+08:00

Sprint has officially launched the Palm Pixi today, the entry-level webOS smartphone, and Palm's second smartphone release this year.

The phone is available from Sprint for $100 with two-year contract and after $100 rebate. However, new customers can get the phone for $50 or less from online retailers such as Amazon of WireFly.

The Pixi includes a 2.63-inch multitouch screen, 2MP camera, QWERTY keypad, GPS and "Synergy," contacts integration. The phone is also smaller than the popular Pre.

Additionally, the device has 8GB of storage, GPS, a standard headset jack, and EV-DO. The phone does not have Wi-Fi, however.

Source: Andre "DVDBack23" Yoskowitz | 15 November 2009 21:00)

Palm Pixi News: Underdog Palm Takes on Giants in Smartphones

2009-11-16T12:15:00.000+08:00

Underdog Palm Takes on Giants in Smartphones

In a land of cellphone giants, Palm is a mouse.

Palm is tiny compared with Apple, Research in Motion, Samsung, Google, Microsoft and Nokia, which are battling to control the future of smartphones.

Palm invented the category of a Web-surfing pocket-computer phone with its Treo line in 2002. But more recently it lost its way in the market as some of its rivals developed more innovative phones. Its new management team, heavily laden with talent from Apple, introduced a new generation of smartphones in June with the $199 Palm Pre on Sprint’s network. The second phone in the line, the $99 Pixi, went on sale Sunday.

Both phones got good reviews for being easy to use and great for Web browsing. But in recent weeks, Google’s Android operating system for smartphones has grabbed the attention of the public, as Verizon heavily promotes the Motorola Droid phone.

While no one expected Palm’s sales would rival the sales of iPhones or BlackBerrys — and they have not — developers have not rushed to write applications for the phone as they have for the iPhone and Android phones.

A lack of traction could prove important. If the market will have room only for a few smartphone standards, Palm, as the smallest company, could well find itself struggling as the perpetual also-ran.

Jon Rubinstein, Palm’s chief executive who was the top Apple engineer and the first head of its iPod division, said in an interview that Palm does not need to be as big as its rivals to thrive. His former employer, after all, was long able to carve out a lucrative niche in the computer business.

“One of the key things we need to do as a company is to get to scale,” he said. “We need to bring on more carriers and more regions.”

Analysts expect that Palm will sell an upgraded version of the Pre with Verizon early next year and add AT&T later in the year. It sells phones in six countries and is steadily expanding to others in Europe and North America.

Investors trying to read the mood of the consumer are unsure whether Palm will prevail. The volatility in Palm’s stock is a sign of the uncertainty over its ability to challenge the iPhone and BlackBerry. (Palm’s shares bounced up to $12.40 on Friday on speculation it would be acquired by Nokia, a prospect many analysts find unlikely.)

“These emotional extremes reflect a handset market in profound turmoil,” said Tero Kuittinen, an analyst with MKM Partners. “Palm soared to $18 when people were expecting Pre to be a blockbuster. American tech bloggers went crazy over Pre and pronounced it to be the St. Paul following the iPhone Jesus,” he said. “Then Verizon started pushing Droid and the bloggers reversed. Now Pre was doomed and Android was going to take over the global handset market.”

Palm looks particularly small if smartphone applications are tallied. Apple’s App Store now has more than 100,000 apps. No other phone operating system comes close, though there are about 10,000 apps for Android. Palm has about 300.

“You develop for the iPhone first and for Android second, then for Palm or not,” said Philip Cusick, an analyst with Macquarie Securities. Mr. Cusick suggested that a large portion of phone buyers do not care about applications even though Apple has based the marketing campaign for its iPhone on selling the apps. “If applications become important, then Palm is going to have trouble,” he said.

Mr. Rubinstein said Palm would never need as many applications as the iPhone. “We are focused on quality over quantity,” he said.

Palm is still testing its app store, called the App Catalog, with a small group of developers. It will open to anyone who wants to write an app next month — six months after the Pre was introduced.

Mr. Rubinstein says he expects developers will write for Palm devices, in part because Palm’s operating system, called webOS, is based largely on the same languages used to design Web sites. Android, by contrast, is based on Sun’s Java language, and Apple uses a variation of the C computer programming language.

He discounts Android’s chances because, he says, it does not yet have mass appeal. “Android, and the Droid in particular, are designed for the techie audience,” Mr. Rubinstein said. “We are doing a more general product that helps people live their lives seamlessly.”

While Android is getting a lot of attention because it has attracted so many phone makers, those companies, Mr. Rubinstein, argues “have to depend on the kindness of strangers” — meaning Google — for their software.

“The companies that will deliver the best products are the ones that integrate the whole experience — the hardware, the software and the services — and aren’t getting one piece from here and one piece from there and trying to bolt it all together,” he said.

This year, Palm is hoping for a tactical advantage with the Pixi, which will sell for a lower price than most Android phones — $99 directly from Sprint and as low as $30 at Wal-Mart. That puts it in direct competition with other phones with keyboards like R.I.M.’s popular BlackBerry Curve. Verizon’s second Droid phone, the Eris made by HTC, also sells for $99, but it lacks a physical keyboard.

“We think the Pixi is in the sweet spot of the market now,” he said. “It was designed for people who are transitioning from feature phones and getting their first smartphone.”

Palm is trying to copy the success it had with the Palm Centro, a small, inexpensive smartphone that sold three million units.

Analysts think he is right.

“The Palm Pixi is the only low-end smartphone with a new operating system,” said Mr. Kuittinen. “That is fairly impressive.”

He estimates Palm may be able to sell 10 million handsets next year, about 5 percent of the smartphone market. That assumes the company can get more carriers in the United States and Europe to sell Palm phones.

Mr. Rubinstein said Palm is positioned to grow now that it has completed a revamping after an investment from Elevation Partners, a private equity firm.

“We did what we said we were going to do,” Mr. Rubinstein said. “We have done a really good job of laying a foundation for the company moving forward. Now we need to move quickly.”

Source: nytimes.com | SAUL HANSELL| Published: November 15, 2009

TELUS to launch Palm Pre and Pixi in January

2009-11-11T17:35:00.001+08:00

The second coming of Palm is in full force as they have just launched the Pre in the U.K, Germany and Spain. Here in Canada, even though Bell just dropped the price of the Pre down another $50 we understand that sales are strong. Could there be reasoning behind the price drop though, other than their HSPA network? We think so…

Back in July we wrote a story about how the Palm Pre was only exclusively available to Bell for 6 months. We had a document called Bell Strategy that said: “The Palm Pre will expand and strengthen Bell’s smartphone category and will break new ground in the fiercely competitive smartphone market. Bell will be the second carrier worldwide (after Sprint) to sell the Palm Pre, with exclusivity for 6 months. Bell anticipates the Canadian market will strongly embrace this product with strong interest, which will boost overall smartphone sales.”

The Canadian market did embrace the Pre and the 6 months is coming to an end. Although we’ve said it before, we are now hearing that TELUS, the only carrier to have 3 networks (CDMA, MiKE, HSPA) will officially be bringing on both the Palm Pre (HSPA) and the new Palm Pixi in January. No word on pricing or exact January launch dates yet, we’ll find out more when we get closer to the date.

Source: mobilesyrup.com (Rob Avison | November 10, 2009)

Christmas 2009: BlackBerry Storm 2, iPhone, Droid, Palm Pixi

2009-11-10T23:42:00.000+08:00

With the release of so many promising handsets this holiday season, its no surprise to hear continued speculation that the Apple iPhone could of finally met its match.

As reported by Von, a new survey has been compiled by Advertising Age, who have given 6 month predictions for handsets such as the iPhone, HTC Hero, Motorola Droid, CLIQ, BlackBerry Storm 2 and Palm Pixi.

According to the survey, Advertising Age have stated that one-third of potential buyers this holiday season will still opt for the iPhone, while the Motorola Droid on Verizon is the handset most likely to rival the iPhone.

Surprisingly, they also mention that the new BlackBerry Storm 9550 won’t turn too many heads this holiday season, with consumers prefering to go with the Droid, CLIQ or HTC Hero.

More details through the link. Let us know what phone you’ll be picking up this month.

Source: product-reviews.net (November 10, 2009 by Alan Ng)

Palm Pixi News: Ares WebOS Development Tool Coming to the Pre and Pixi

2009-11-10T23:40:00.000+08:00

On Thursday, November 5th 2009, at the Open Mobile Summit conference in San Francisco. Palm demonstrated “Ares”, a Web-based development environment for WebOS applications. It will be coming to the Palm Pre and Palm Pixi smartphones by the end of this year through the WebOS developer site.

According to Palm, Ares will give developers a faster way write WebOS applications through a drag-and-drop interface. Senior Vice President of Application Software and Services at Palm; Michael Abbott said that Ares It’s designed to help Web developers make the leap to becoming mobile developers.

According to Abbott, Ares won’t require any downloads or configuration. And “the environment includes debugging and a mechanism for developers to share libraries and APIs (application programming interfaces).” A Palm engineer created a search application for the Flickr Web photo site in a live demonstration at the conference, just to show how easy this new tool will be.

Source: mypre.com (09 November 2009 by Juventino Quinones)

Palm's does it again, unveils Pixi before Apple’s big day

2009-11-08T13:14:00.002+08:00

While the Pixi isn’t likely to overshadow the buzz of Apple’s press event this afternoon, Palm is showing that it does indeed have the moxie (the audacity, if you will) to stand up to the big dogs. If you’ll think back just three months to the launch of the Pre, where Palm showed it had the balls to launch two days before the world knew Apple would unveil the new iPhone. Apple is expected today to show off their latest iPod line, while most eyes will be waiting to see if Steve Jobs and his patented Reality Distortion Field will be making an appearance, Palm’s going to be standing at the sidelines waving two Pixi phones over their head screaming “Look at me!” And the media will look, as they like nothing more than to compare to the iPhone.

Now, Palm and Apple aren’t going to be the only ones making noise today. The long awaited complete digital remastering of The Beatles’ albums will be released today. Also hitting the scene will be The Beatles: Rock Band, possibly the most anticipated release of Rock Band to date.

As I said above, it’s only been three months since Palm launched the Pre, also on Sprint. Since then they’ve launched the Pre on Bell Mobility in Canada and announced a partnership with O2 to carry the Pre in Europe. While these wouldn’t be notable accomplishments for a company of Apple’s size (35,000 employees and $32 billion revenue for 2008), it’s quite audacious for Palm. With just 1,000 employees, Palm is small potatoes in the smartphone market, especially when you consider that in 2009 Palm lost $739 million just trying to stay afloat.

The rapid fire pace of releases has several advantages for Palm. Firstly, it allows them to have an expanded product portfolio. This means that there will be more than one webOS device on the shelves in Sprint stores, as well as gives carriers different options for which phone they want to carry (look at RIM’s prolific BlackBerry line for evidence of how well this works). By putting out a new device so soon, especially one that is visibly quite different than the Pre, Palm is setting themselves up in the public’s eye as being able to produce notably different devices, even if they are notably similar on the inside. By spitting out a lower-tier device like the Pixi, Palm is also opening up a new front in their war to regain their place as a top-tier smartphone provider. By unveiling the Pixi so soon after the Pre, Palm is staying fresh in the eyes of the media and consumers and may be able to capture the attention of consumers who were interested in the Pre, but turned off by the styling or price.

So yes, Palm’s got moxie. It takes guts to do this to Apple once, but twice in just three months is really ballsy. For as much as Palm protested that they weren’t shooting to capture Apple’s marketshare (which we know is a next-to-impossible task), they sure keep setting themselves up against Apple, eh?

Source: precentral.net (Derek Kessler | Wednesday, Sep 9, 2009)

Palm announces Ares app developing tool for Pre and Pixi

2009-11-07T11:11:00.001+08:00

The Palm Pre and Palm Pixi are great little smartphones, but at this point, it’s clear that the platform is languishing behind the likes of the iPhone, Google Android and Microsoft. Palm and Sprint both needed a hit phone as a hail mary pass, but it’s just not generating the sort of public clamor it should. And a big part of the problem is the Pre’s app strategy: it’s barely there.

Palm seems to know this, which is why they’ve announced Ares. Ares is a browser based, drag and drop development toolkit for making simple apps that run on the Pre and Pixi.

The way it works is simple. Software written in Ares are actually web apps, down to the one. The resulting apps are actually designed in a browser, written in web languages and even rendered like a web page. Where it differs is the way the resulting app is packaged: the Ares tool simply wraps them up as a native Palm Pre or Pixi app.

The goal is to “help web developers make the leap to becoming mobile developers.” This is a step further than even what webOS and the Mojo SDK already do. But the problem with the Pre and Pixi is that all of their apps are basically already web apps. Palm needs Google Android and iPhone like app functionality to compete, along with adoption rates. They don’t have either.

Still, this can’t hurt, and it’s a step-up from Palm’s nebulous current app strategy. Ares will be available by the end of the year.

Source: geek.com ( Nov. 6, 2009 (1:22 pm) By: John Brownlee)

Palm Pixi Mobile Phone Review

2009-11-07T11:05:00.002+08:00

The Palm Pixi is finally here, complete with 8 GB of storage, a full QWERTY keyboard, a 2.63” inch capacitive touch screen display with 320×400 pixels of resolution, a 2.0 mega pixel camera and Wi-Fi. Yep, the Palm Pixi is fully loaded yet retains a very small size. The balance of hardware and size in this mobile phone is nothing short of a technological wonder.

Sizing Up

If you are wondering what is running underneath the Pixi hardware, you will be pleased to know that this mobile phone is using a Qualcomm MSM7627 processor; that is some serious processing power and will run almost any application that you can expect to have on the Pixi. The most interesting thing about the whole set up is that Palm manages to do all this with a device that is really small. It is slim, light and very easy to carry.

Mini Smart Phone

Size-wise, this mobile device is about the range of a GSM phone. Still, it has everything that a smart phone needs and a little extra. It also has a 3.5mm audio jack, customizable and interchangeable casings (go check the artist series). The applications it can run are wide and intensive; even the browsing features are well made.

Should You Get It?

If you plan on getting a smart phone for a good price and would like to carry a small device that does not get in way, then you would really do well with the Pixi. Palm created a very good package for this mobile phone by adding in a touch screen and Wi-Fi. The full QWERTY keyboard looks small at first, but thanks to the buttons used for the keys, using the keyboard is pretty even for people with larger fingers. Lastly, the graphics quality on the screen is clear and vivid, and the 8GB memory lets you store lots of media on the device.

Source: blog.moby1

Palm Pixi Top Ten Questions, Answered!

2009-11-06T22:36:00.000+08:00

Source: Sascha Segan (pcmag.com)

During my hands-on with the Palm Pixi, I had the opportunity to ask Palm some pretty tough questions about the new smartphone. Here are some answers from Palm Pixi product manager Phil McClendon. To brush up on Palm's new slab-style smartphone, check out my hands-on report on PCMag.com.

Some context: The Pixi is smaller than the Pre, it will probably be less expensive, and it's shaped like a BlackBerry rather than a sliding phone. Palm says the Pixi is more angled towards messaging than towards multimedia – thus the new Facebook app, Yahoo! IM integration, and always-accessible keyboard.

1.) Sprint, again? Why aren't other carriers getting WebOS love?
"We have shown in a very short period of time that we've started to deploy WebOS devices across the world. ... Sprint's been a great partner for us. Today's day one and Sprint is our partner. We're very glad to have them and it gives us all kinds of different benefits in terms of their 3G network being the most reliable."

2.) HTC says a 2.8-inch screen is too small for capacitive touch. Your response?
"That's not true. It really depends upon how your UI is created. You can create a UI that will respond just fine with your capacitive panel at that side, but there are trade-offs you have to make, and perhaps those are trade-offs they chose not to make."

3.) What processor is being used here?
It's a Qualcomm MSM 7627, a lower-cost alternative to the TI OMAP3 used in the Palm Pre, McClendon said. He didn't give any more details, but the MSM7627 uses the ARM11 architecture, which is potentially slower and less expensive than the Cortex-A8 used in the Pre.

4.) How do you fit WebOS on a smaller screen?
"The spacing between [icons] is slightly less and there's more scrolling involved. If I go to the email application, there's less emails that can be seen on a particular page. ... But if a developer creates their application to be mindful of the fact that the vertical dimension can change, which they should do already because of the notification bar. Really, it's just a matter of scrolling more."

5.) Are there any ways (other than screen size) the Pre is better than the Pixi?
"On the Pre, you have better media performance in terms of higher frame rates and larger resolutions. [The Pixi] will play H.264 at this sub-HVGA size ... whereas on the Pre, it'll play at full HVGA at 30 frames per second."

6.) Why no Wi-Fi?
"What we felt was important for this target demographic was the form factor, the size ... we didn't think it was as important to this particular target customer."

7.) Will the Facebook app or Yahoo integration be available for the Pre?
"We're not announcing that right now ... but it is something we could deploy."

8.) Will all of the Pre's apps run on the Pixi?
"If they follow the guidelines that we provided them, the app will work on both devices."

9.) How did you pick the artists for the "artist backs?"
"That's just the beginning. Right now, as a California company and wanting to support new up and coming artists, we chose them from our backyard.

10.) What is this all going to cost?
No comment.

The Palm Pixi: A Smaller Pre But Without Wi-Fi

2009-11-04T15:12:00.000+08:00

In a move akin to Herman’s Hermits opening for the Rolling Stones, Palm has decided to announce the new Palm Pixi, a phone akin to the Palm Centro of yore in price point and features, on the very day Apple will eat up the rest of the news cycle.

The Pixi is a non-slider with touchscreen and full keyboard. It will cost about $149 with two year contract and rebates on Sprint. You have 8GB of on board storage and it takes 2-megapixel pictures – down from the Pre’s 3-megapixels.

There is no Wi-Fi, a dealbreaker for many. The Pixi will be available in multiple “Artist Series” styles and will be available around the holidays.

The Pre costs about $199 – cut to $99 for a bit and then raised back up – so a $50 savings isn’t much when it comes to a device without Wi-Fi. I think the average smartphone buyer is looking for a few things in a device – a touchscreen, 3G networking, and, ideally, some alternative form of transfer. This doesn’t have it.

That said, it’s a fascinating move by Palm. Either they wanted to bury this news in the Apple event today or they foolishly thought this would overshadow the event. I’m betting on the former.

WebOS is a contender but with phones like the Hero and the Tattoo appearing on the horizon and HTC really taking a a hard look at its competitors – and eating them – Palm may be barking up the wrong tree.

We’ll have hands on later today.

Thin Palm Pixi Phone Puts

Fast, Intuitive Communication at Fingertips

Palm’s Thinnest Phone Yet Expands Palm webOS Line with Customizable Style

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2009 – Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ: PALM) today introduced the Palm® Pixi™ phone for faster, more intuitive and personal communication in a compact and customizable design.(1) With the instinctively useable Palm webOS™ platform, strikingly thin design, a visible full keyboard and fashionable personalization options, Palm Pixi lets you express yourself in amazingly useful ways. It’s scheduled to be available exclusively from Sprint in time for the holidays.

“With Palm webOS, we’re creating a new, more intuitive smartphone experience defined by unmatched simplicity and usefulness,” said Jon Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief executive officer. “Palm Pixi brings this unique experience to a broader range of people who want enhanced messaging and social networking in a design that lets them express their personal style.”

In addition to linking your information from Google™, Facebook and Exchange ActiveSync, Palm Pixi adds Yahoo! and LinkedIn integration to Palm Synergy™ and assembles it all in a single view.(2) You can get your Yahoo! contacts, calendar and IM, and access to your LinkedIn contacts, including job titles. Synergy on Palm Pixi makes messaging easier by showing you all your conversations with the same person in one chat-style thread, so you can start a conversation on AIM Instant Messenger, Google Talk™ or Yahoo! Messenger and continue it by text message later.(3)

Complementing the phone’s already rich Facebook integration with the contacts, phone, calendar and photo applications, a new Facebook application will be available with Palm Pixi so you can see and comment on all the latest news from your friends, as well as easily update your status. The phone’s full QWERTY keyboard puts it all at your fingertips, and the multi-touch screen lets you move back and forth between open applications using natural gestures.(4) The unique removable back cover is rubberized, making it scratch-resistant, slip-resistant and durable.

Personalization with Style

For those who want to express themselves with some extra style, Palm is introducing the Palm Pixi Artist Series. Designed by some of today’s most unique and compelling artists, these numbered, limited-edition back covers let you change designs to suit your mood. You can see the first collection in the series, as well as information about the artists, at www.palm.com/artistseries. Palm will be showcasing the fashionable new Palm Pixi with the Artist Series covers this week at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York (Sept. 10-17).

You can also tailor Palm Pixi to your interests with downloadable applications from the Palm Beta App Catalog, including the latest entertainment and social networking applications such as Local Concerts by iLike, and Yelp™.(5) You can use Palm media sync to customize your phone with music, photos and videos from iTunes (Versions 8.1.1-8.2.1)(6), or use the on-device Amazon MP3 store to purchase individual songs or full albums over-the-air.(3)

“Palm Pixi continues Sprint’s leadership in providing useful and innovative devices on America’s most dependable 3G network,”(7) said Dan Hesse, chief executive officer at Sprint. “We are pleased to be the first carrier to bring this device to market and offer both devices in the growing Palm webOS family. Sprint’s Everything Data plans, which provide unrestricted access to the Internet, mobile content and applications, and our Ready Now retail experience make for a perfect combination with these new Palm products.”

The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network reaches more than 271 million people, 18,652 cities and 1,838 airports, and Sprint’s networks are now performing at best-ever levels.

Customers who purchase Palm Pixi will benefit from Sprint’s Ready Now, which the company pioneered to help customers leave the store educated, comfortable and confident about the phones they’re taking home. It is like having a free personal trainer that educates you on all your phone can do by setting up all the applications you want to use on the device.

Palm Pixi is also the perfect complement to Sprint’s Simply EverythingSM plan, which provides unlimited nationwide calling, texting, email, social networking, web browsing, GPS navigation, Sprint TV, streaming music, NFL Mobile Live, NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile and much more for only $99.99 per month. It’s a savings of $1,200 over two years versus some comparable competitor plans.

Palm Pixi Features

High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A)
2.63-inch multi-touch screen with a vibrant 18-bit color 320×400 resolution TFT display
Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
Exposed QWERTY keyboard for fast messaging
Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities), including Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! IM
High-performance, desktop-class web browser
Integrated GPS(8)
Multimedia options, including pictures, video playback and music, and featuring a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera with LED flash, and a standard 3.5mm headset jack
Email, including Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers), as well as personal email support (Google push, Yahoo! push, POP3, IMAP)(9)
Bluetooth® 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
8GB of internal user storage (~7GB user available)(10)
USB mass storage mode
MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
The first handset to launch with Qualcomm’s high-performance MSM7627™ chipset
Proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
Light sensor, which dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, to reduce power usage
Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
Ringer switch, which easily silences the device with one touch
Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAh battery
Dimensions: 55mm (W) x 111mm (L) x 10.85mm (D) [2.17 in. (W) x 4.37 in. (L) x 0.43 in. (D)]
Weight: 99.5 grams (3.51 ounces)
Sprint services, including Sprint TV® and Sprint Radio, Sprint Navigation, Sprint’s exclusive NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live

Availability and Pricing

The Palm Pixi phone is scheduled to be available from Sprint in time for the holidays. Pricing for the phone, as well as the limited-edition Palm Pixi Artist Series covers, will be announced closer to availability. Customers who would like to register to receive additional information about Palm Pixi and be notified when it’s available can register at www.palm.com/pixi.

In addition, effective today the Palm Pre™ phone from Sprint is available for $149.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $150 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate. You can find this great pricing at Sprint stores, on the web (www.sprint.com) and by calling Sprint’s telesales group (1-800-SPRINT1). With the new Palm Pixi phone, and Palm Pre at a lower price, Palm and Sprint are bringing greater choice of Palm webOS phones to a larger audience.

Source: John Biggs on September 9, 2009

Sprint announces webOS-powered Palm Pixi smartphone

2009-11-04T10:26:00.000+08:00

Palm has announced the Palm Pixi, the compact successor to its flagship Palm Pre that will be available soon at Sprint. Built on webOS, the device features a thin design and a full-QWERTY keyboard on the face of a traditional candybar design. Unlike the Pre, the keyboard is available at all times without the need to slide the device open.
Click here to find out more!

The Pixi features EV-DO Rev. A data connectivity but, unlike the Pre, lacks WiFi connectivity. The phone still includes a touchscreen display, though it measures in slightly smaller at 2.63-inches compared to the Pre's 3.1-inch display and the Pixi's resolution is lower too. Palm packed a sub-HVGA (320 x 400 pixel) capacitive touchscreen(INFO) into the Pixi, compared with the Pre's full HVGA (320 x 480 pixels) display. The Pixi includes 8GB of internal flash storage memory
, the same amount as the Pre. The Pixi also includes a modest 2.0 megapixel camera with LED flash, which is also a downgrade from the unit found in the Pre, and Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR technology.

The device's webOS operating system gives users Synergy, a contact management system that pulls information from Google, Facebook, Exchange, Yahoo!, and LinkedIn. Users can also easily contact friends and family by instant message on AIM, Google Talk, or Yahoo! Messenger and switch the conversation to text messages or email at any time. A new Facebook application will also be available with the Pixi.

Of course users are also able to download other application from the Palm Beta App Catalog, including apps like Yelp and Local Concerts by iLike. Palm says users will still be able to sync their media files with old versions of iTunes, since Apple recently discontinued sync access with newer versions of the music player software.

Palm is providing users with personalization options with an artist series of limited-edition back covers. Users can view the options at Palm's website. The Palm Pixi will be available at Sprint in time for the holidays but exact availability and pricing have not yet been announced. Users can sign-up for email updates at http://www.palm.com/pixi.

Source: mobileburn.com (September 09, 2009.)

Equinox, Pixi and Passion: New US Phones To Cross The Pond Too

2009-11-04T09:01:00.000+08:00

The US operators are in their usual October scramble to have the most eye-catching handsets for the holiday buying season, and several of the latest models are also coming to Europe soon. This week alone, the Sony Ericsson Equinox (at T-Mobile USA), HTC HD2 (in WinMo and possibly Android versions) and Palm Pixi (at Sprint) have caught our eye, and all three will be crossing the pond soon too.

The Equinox comes to T-Mobile USA on October 28, at $50 with two-year basic contract. Simultaneously, it will be launched by T-Mobile in Europe, under the less exciting name of T707. It is positioned as a fashion phone for the midmarket, particularly for young female users, and comes marketed by a host of celebrities including tennis star Maria Sharapova.

The Equinox, true to its fashion credentials, is pretty to look at but light on in-depth features. It is a flip-phone with customizable light effects – when linked to the TMo MyFaves service, which supports a list of close contacts for special rates and messaging apps, the Equinox lights up in one of five colors, each representing a different person on the list. There is also a hidden OLED screen on the exterior shell that lights up when a call is coming in.

Features include GPS, FM radio and 3.2-megapixel camera with software to upload videos automatically, from the phone directly to YouTube. The 3G handset also supports some gesture controls such as swinging the phone around to silence a call or alarm without opening the device. Under the flip, it sports a 2.2-inch, QVGA screen.

T-Mobile and Sony Ericsson are sponsoring a Maria Sharapova lookalike contest on Hallowe’en to promote the new phone.

Also going for the mass market is the cutdown version of the Palm Pre, the Pixi, which will be available through Sprint on November 15 at the price of $99 after a $50 mail-in rebate, and with contract. As it tries to compete with a host of midrange phones sporting smartphone brands and capabilities, it may have to drop this price quicksmart to grab consumer attention. It will also come to the Pre’s exclusive European carrier, Telefonica O2, in time for Christmas, at least in the UK and Spain.

Far higher up the cellphone food chain is the HTC HD2, one of the most impressive of the recent wave of new Windows Mobile 6.5 handsets, and reportedly set to arrive at Verizon Wireless next month in an Android version codenamed Passion. The WinMo version, previously known as Leo, is coming to O2 UK in November, free with a £35-a-month two-year contract, and until then, it will be available via online retailer Expansys for £500 or Insight for £486. In the US, the Windows variant will debut at T-Mobile USA at the end of October, no pricing yet.

The product runs the superfast 1GHz Snapdragon processor from Qualcomm and comes with a huge 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen. Its screen has far higher resolution than the iPhone’s, at 800 x 480 WVGA, and comes with the ‘pinch to zoom’ option beloved of Apple users. It also features a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash and autofocus, 960Mb of internal memory and 2Gb microSD card.

It now seems likely the planned HTC Passion will in fact be a CDMA/Android 2.0 version of the Leo and will come to Verizon Wireless in November. The Passion has been pictured in the wild with hardware buttons more like those on the Motorola Droid than the Leo. This has led to speculation that Verizon will insist on a similar button design and control interface across all its Android phones, and that it may use the term ‘Droid’ for the entire line-up, not just the Motorola phone (formerly known as Tao, and being launched officially by Verizon next week).

Source: unthinkable.biz | Published by Walri on Tuesday, 27th October 2009

Palm Pixi Personal And Work Email

2009-11-04T00:15:00.000+08:00

Get your personal email from accounts like Gmail™, Windows Live™ Hotmail®, and Yahoo! Mail. And stay in touch with work by checking email from Microsoft® Exchange, POP, or IMAP accounts.9 The exposed keyboard makes typing responses, even longer ones, fast and easy.

Really great!

Palm Pixi Headed to Sprint This Holiday Season

2009-11-03T21:26:00.000+08:00

Palm has announced that the Pixi – a tiny webOS-based handset – will come to Sprint this holiday season. The phone will hit shelves without Wi-Fi, only with EVDO Revision A, with 8GB of storage onboard, a 2 megapixel camera with flash, a full QWERTY keyboard, and a 2.63-inch, 320×400 capacitive multitouch display. The Palm Pixi is the successor of the Centro. Compared to the Palm Pre, the Pixi introduces a native Facebook application, as well as new Yahoo! and LinkedIn integration for Synergy. Along with the new device, Palm offers five artist-designed back covers which can be purchased separately, included in the “Palm Pixi Artist Series”, similar to Zune Originals and Dell’s Design Studio laptops.

Intensely criticized for its too high price of Pre, compared to the rival iPhone, as well as for the small application store and lower performance, Palm is putting all its hope in the new released Pixi smartphone, exclusively meant for Sprint.

The Pixi smartphone will be available in the carrier’s stores on the 15th of November at a price of $100 on contract and with a $50 immediate rebate as well as a mail-in rebate of $100. It also works with the Touchstone inductive charging dock, but it will need an $80 add-on and a $20 back shell to enable wireless charging.

Source: 29th October, 2009 by Adina

Palm Pixi: European Version Spotted

2009-11-03T17:55:00.000+08:00

A UK launch date for the Palm Pixi, Palm’s candybar followup to the webOS fuelled Pre smartphone, has still yet to be announced, but a European version has already been spotted online. Is a release nearer than we think?

Palm told us it had vague plans for the cheaper, smaller 3G Palm Pixi to come to the UK, but this snap of what appears to be a GSM network model in Vietnam suggests it’s gearing up for launch already. Sprint, the US network the Palm Pixi will be exclusive to, uses a different type of network, CDMA, suggesting that this is destined for European markets primarily (Although it could be headed to AT&T and T-Mobile in the US too).

Source: mirror.co.uk

Palm Pixi's Qualcomm MSM7627 processor gets detailed

2009-11-03T10:18:00.000+08:00

Qualcomm has unveiled some key specifications for its MSM7627, the chipset used by the recently announced Palm Pixi smartphone device, which we reported on last week.

The powerful new chipset features two ARM cores integrated into a single chip, allowing tasks to be split between a 600MHz application-specific processor and a 400MHz processor dedicated to modem duties. The MSM7627 includes EV-DO Rev A. and HSDPA 7.2Mbps data connectivity support, as well (though the current Pixi does not support HSDPA). The MSM7627 also can handle 30fps WVGA encoding and decoding and has a 200MHz hardware-accelerated 3D graphics core with OpenGL support.

The Pixi features a 2.63-inch Sub-HVGA (320 x 400 pixels) touchscreen display, a 2.0 megapixel camera, Bluetooth support, and 8GB of internal memory, as well. The new device will be available in time for the holidays with Sprint, but exact pricing and availability have not yet been announced.

Source: Brian James Kirk on Tuesday September 15, 2009.

Palm Pixi Mobile Applications

2009-11-03T00:10:00.000+08:00

Browse the App Catalog from your phone and download apps right over the air.3 Choose from a variety of titles designed for Palm webOS, many of which work together with other apps on the phone. Find apps like OpenTable, Yelp, or WHERE, just to name a few. And new ones are being added all the time.

Go here for lot of applications.

Palm Pixi Gets Pricing, Sale Date

2009-11-02T10:50:00.000+08:00

Sprint preps for the Pixi rollout as the nation's No. 3 carrier continues placing its bets on Palm.

Sprint today unveiled pricing and sale dates for the Palm Pixi, revealing that the smartphone goes on sale Nov. 15 for $99.99 after rebates.

In addition to Sprint (NYSE: S) stores, the Pixi, the smaller sibling to the Palm (NASDAQ: PALM) Pre, will be sold at Best Buy, RadioShack and Wal-Mart retail locations.

"We are excited to offer the new Palm Pixi to our customers in time for the holiday season, and it's a great addition to Sprint's industry-leading device portfolio," Kevin Packingham, senior vice president of product development at Sprint, said in a statement. "Simply put, this phone is fun and easy to use; with its multitouch screen and full QWERTY keyboard, it's a great device for messaging and social networking at a price everyone can enjoy, and delivers so many of the great features people love about Palm Pre in a fantastic new form factor, making it a huge hit for consumers."

The Pixi joins the flagship Pre as Palm rolls into the critical holiday shopping season with its hopes of a comeback pinned to sales of the two webOS-based handsets, and as it prepares to officially launch its associated app store, dubbed Palm App Catalog

Since Palm launched the Pre in early June, all eyes have been on the embattled mobile device maker to see whether the new device could help resuscitate its fortunes.

While the Pre -- and Pixi -- garnered positive reviews, some analysts cite exclusivity with Sprint as hampering sales.

"Palm has bet its future on webOS, but its first two handsets, the Pre and Pixi, are Sprint exclusives. The Pre has not sold well enough to merit a congratulatory press release or to reverse Sprint's falling CDMA postpaid subscriber numbers," according to a research note issued today by Avi Greengart, analyst at Current Analysis.

"In early 2010, Sprint's U.S. exclusive will be up, and Palm will begin selling webOS products at the three largest carriers; European sales are expected to start before then," he said. "If the added distribution sparks increased sales, Palm is home free. If not, webOS is almost certainly destined to live on when another industry player buys the company."

Meanwhile, Sprint, the nation's third-largest carrier, has been beleaguered by mounting losses and continues looking to shore up its business in large part on the success of devices like the Pre and Pixi.

The company is set to report earnings for the third-quarter on Thursday.

Sprint's rivals No. 1 Verizon Wireless and No. 2 AT&T have each already reported their third-quarter financial results, and so far, the pecking order remains the same -- despite AT&T again posting a record quarter due to new iPhone subscribers.

Verizon's customer base grew 1.2 million to 88.9 million from 87.7 million, while AT&T jumped to 2 million to 81.6 million from 79.6 million.

Currently, Sprint checks in at 48.8 million, trailed by T-Mobile with 33.5 million.

Source: Michelle Megna (October 26, 2009)

Palm Pre vs Palm Pixi

2009-11-02T09:53:00.000+08:00

First question asked by many is “how does it compare to the Palm Pre?” The Pixi is designed as a entry-level phone, where as the Palm Pre is a prosumer model. If you were considering a jump from the Pre to the Pixi, there are a four major differences between the two phones.

The processor, which is detailed here, is not as powerful. No word yet on the amount of RAM. Palm acknowledges that there will be a limit to the number of cards they can have open at any given time.
The screen is 320×400, which is 80 pixels less than the screen on the Palm Pre 320×480. If you watch movies on your device, this is where you’d likely notice it most.
Camera is 2 megapixels vs 3 megapixels on the Palm Pre. Both feature an LEF flash. We could not test picture quality during the hands-on.
This is an entry-level phone. To keep costs down, it does not include WiFi.

Source: Chris (everythingpre.com)

The Palm Pixi is official, headed to Sprint this holiday season -- we've got hands-on and video!

2009-11-02T09:45:00.000+08:00

The Palm Pixi has officially arrived, and if you're an avid reader of Engadget (you'd better be), this device should look a little bit familiar to you. We first broke specs and images of the phone -- codenamed Eos and the alternately-spelled "Pixie" -- back in April, when we nabbed what appeared to be a leak of a new, Centro-esque phone headed to AT&T. Today, Palm has announced that the Pixi -- a tiny, sleek webOS-based handset -- will be coming to Sprint this holiday season. The phone will hit shelves sans-WiFi (EV-DO Rev. A only here), with 8GB of storage onboard (a nice bump up from the rumored 4GB), 2 megapixel camera (with flash), a full QWERTY keyboard, and a minute, 2.63-inch, 320 x 400 capacitive display (guess they didn't get that HTC memo).

Along with the new handset, Palm will offer five artist-designed back covers in the "Palm Pixi Artist Series" -- similar to Zune Originals and Dell's Design Studio laptops -- which can be purchased separately... of course. Touchstone owners take heart: those backs, as well as a separate black backing that you'll also pay extra for, are all compatible with the accessory. In addition to the hardware, Palm will be introducing a native Facebook app when the Pixi hits, as well as new Yahoo! and LinkedIn integration for Synergy. Right now no date for launch has been set, though Palm says the phone will be ready in time for the holidays. The company is also mum on price, but coupled with the news that Sprint will be slimming the Pre's entry point down to $149.99, we have to assume it's going to be in the $99-or-less ballpark. We had a chance to play around with the new phone, so read on after the break for our initial, early impressions.

Palm is still tweaking the device, so we aren't making any final judgments on the Pixi -- though what we saw is mostly heartening.

For starters, the phone is really quite handsome. In terms of industrial design, the clean lines and smart choices in materials belie the Pixi's likely price-point. In your hands it feels solid, though it's shocking just how tiny it is. The standard backing is a soft-touch material (not unlike the Touchstone back for the Pre), and perhaps due to the lack of moving parts here, the phone feels really well put together. Just as with the Pre, the Pixi includes a ringer on / off switch and 3.5mm headphone jack, as well as a removable 1150mAh battery.

The body of the phone is -- as we said -- very small, but the thickness is where it really struts its stuff... or lack of stuff. The Pixi is just 0.43-inches thick. To put that in perspective, the iPhone 3GS is 0.48-inches -- which means anyone who has complaints about sliding a handset into their pocket should be swooning.

Instead of a center button, Palm has made the middle of the gesture area (part of its capacitive coating) take on the duty. The target is represented by a small, white slit, and the same gestures that webOS is known for seem to work flawlessly around it. While the screen gets 80 pixels lopped off compared with the Pre (and the iPhone, G1, Hero, and Storm, to name a few), it looked clean and crisp to us. The responsiveness on the main part of the display was just as tight -- if not tighter -- than the Pre, and that's a plus. Of course, webOS makes clever use of the cramped space by squashing card and app sizes down to fit. It's a tremendous example of the UI's literal scalability.

The QWERTY keyboard on the Pixi was also a bit of a shocker -- even though the keys are tiny and tightly spaced, it's definitely usable. The reps we spoke with noted that due to the candybar form factor and lack of a sliding mechanism, they were able to get more height on the keys. Besides the more pronounced buttons, the Pixi's keyboard seemed to have a more tactile click than that of the Pre, and honestly, we might have liked the Pixi's variation better.

Inside, the phone is powered by a completely different CPU than its big brother. In this case, Palm chose to use the Qualcomm MSM7627, a smaller chip which enabled them to mint the micro form factor. The CPU itself isn't dramatically different than the 7200 series, though it is noticeably less charged than the TI OMAP3 chip in the Pre. Regardless of what's cranking the gears, the phone seemed pretty snappy when it was demoed for us (you can see it in action in the videos below). We did notice a few hangups during big image scaling and heavy webpages, but again, this is early software on an early device.

All in all, we walked away impressed by the Pixi, but a little bummed that Palm has chosen to bring another webOS device to Sprint. Here's hoping that this proliferation means the Pre will be finding its way to other carriers soon -- part of Palm's strength right now is that it's not locked into a long term Apple / AT&T situation, and it would be a shame not to take full advantage of that. Still, it's always nice to see a quality handset joining the smartphone ranks, and if this pans out to be as cheap as we think it should be, Palm could find themselves making a lot of new friends... Centro style.

Source: Joshua Topolsky posted Sep 9th 2009 at 12:02AM

Palm Pixi Due Nov 15 at $99

2009-11-02T09:37:00.000+08:00

Sprint has announced that Sunday, Nov. 15 will be the first day of nationwide availability for the Palm Pixi. The device will be exclusive to Sprint for a period and will cost $99.99 with a two-year service agreement, after a $50 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate.

According to the press release, the Palm Pixi will be made available at Sprint stores, sprint.com, through telesales at 1-800-SPRINT1, and at Best Buy, RadioShack and select Wal-Mart stores.

"We are excited to offer the new Palm Pixi to our customers in time for the holiday season, and it's a great addition to Sprint's industry-leading device portfolio," said Kevin Packingham, senior vice president – Product Development, Sprint. "Simply put, this phone is fun and easy to use; with its multi-touch screen and full QWERTY keyboard, it's a great device for messaging and social networking at a price everyone can enjoy, and delivers so many of the great features people love about Palm Pre™ in a fantastic new form factor, making it a huge hit for consumers."

Palm Pixi features an exposed keyboard, multi-touch screen and a durable, removable rubberized back cover. It is also compatible with Palm Touchstone charging technology and will feature a series of replacement back covers. You can checkout our recent Palm Pixi preview here.

Spec-wise, the Pixi packs in a CDMA EVDO Rev. A data modem, a 2.63-inch 320x400 TFT multi-touch screen, an exposed QWERTY keyboard, GPS, 2-megapixel camera with flash, 3.5mm headphone jack, 8GB of internal storage, and a Qualcomm MSM7627 chipset.

A new Facebook application will be available with Palm Pixi, so users can see and comment on all the latest news from friends and easily update their status.

Palm Pixi requires activation on a pricing plan including unlimited data, such as Sprint's Everything Data plans with Any Mobile, AnytimeSM, which give customers unlimited mobile calling on the Sprint network to and from any U.S. wireless carrier, unlimited nationwide texting, email, Web browsing and much more, starting at just $69.99. The Simply EverythingSM plan from Sprint offers a truly unlimited experience for only $99.99 per month, a savings of $1,200 over two years versus a comparable AT&T iPhone plan. (All price plans exclude surcharges and taxes. Other exclusions apply.)

Source: Ryan Kairer Monday, October 26, 2009 7:42:46 AM

Palm Pixi clears FCC

2009-11-02T09:19:00.000+08:00

Besides a slew of new LG phones, the biggest news out of the Federal Communications this week is the approval of the Palm Pixi. In light of its November 15 release date, the Pixi's appearance here is not surprising. We also spied the Google Android-equipped LG GW620.

Because the FCC has to certify every phone sold in the United States, not to mention test its SAR rating, the agency's online database offers a lot of sneak peeks to those who dig. And to save you the trouble, Crave has combed through the database for you. Here are a selection of filings from the past week on new and upcoming cell phones. Click through to read the full report.

Source: Kent German October 30, 2009 12:44 PM PDT

Palm Pixi Music, Photo and Video

2009-11-02T00:07:00.000+08:00

Take pictures with the built-in 2-megapixel camera and LED flash, then share them by uploading to Photobucket or Facebook—or by sending from Email or Messaging.3 Download songs from the Amazon MP3 store and play them complete with their album art.6 You can also easily transfer your DRM-free iTunes music, videos, and photos right to your Palm Pixi.

This thing is really powerful.

Thin Palm Pixi Phone Puts Fast, Intuitive Communication at Fingertips

2009-11-01T16:13:00.000+08:00

Palm's Thinnest Phone Yet Expands Palm webOS Line with Customizable Style

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Sep 09, 2009 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Palm, Inc. (NASDAQ:PALM) today introduced the Palm(R) Pixi(TM) phone for faster, more intuitive and personal communication in a compact and customizable design.(1) With the instinctively useable Palm webOS(TM) platform, strikingly thin design, a visible full keyboard and fashionable personalization options, Palm Pixi lets you express yourself in amazingly useful ways. It's scheduled to be available exclusively from Sprint in time for the holidays.

"With Palm webOS, we're creating a new, more intuitive smartphone experience defined by unmatched simplicity and usefulness," said Jon Rubinstein, Palm chairman and chief executive officer. "Palm Pixi brings this unique experience to a broader range of people who want enhanced messaging and social networking in a design that lets them express their personal style."

In addition to linking your information from Google(TM), Facebook and Exchange ActiveSync, Palm Pixi adds Yahoo! and LinkedIn integration to Palm Synergy(TM) and assembles it all in a single view.(2) You can get your Yahoo! contacts, calendar and IM, and access to your LinkedIn contacts, including job titles. Synergy on Palm Pixi makes messaging easier by showing you all your conversations with the same person in one chat-style thread, so you can start a conversation on AIM Instant Messenger, Google Talk(TM) or Yahoo! Messenger and continue it by text message later.(3)

Complementing the phone's already rich Facebook integration with the contacts, phone, calendar and photo applications, a new Facebook application will be available with Palm Pixi so you can see and comment on all the latest news from your friends, as well as easily update your status. The phone's full QWERTY keyboard puts it all at your fingertips, and the multi-touch screen lets you move back and forth between open applications using natural gestures.(4) The unique removable back cover is rubberized, making it scratch-resistant, slip-resistant and durable.

Personalization with Style

For those who want to express themselves with some extra style, Palm is introducing the Palm Pixi Artist Series. Designed by some of today's most unique and compelling artists, these numbered, limited-edition back covers let you change designs to suit your mood. You can see the first collection in the series, as well as information about the artists, at www.palm.com/artistseries. Palm will be showcasing the fashionable new Palm Pixi with the Artist Series covers this week at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York (Sept. 10-17).

You can also tailor Palm Pixi to your interests with downloadable applications from the Palm Beta App Catalog, including the latest entertainment and social networking applications such as Local Concerts by iLike, and Yelp(TM).(5) You can use Palm media sync to customize your phone with music, photos and videos from iTunes (Versions 8.1.1-8.2.1)(6), or use the on-device Amazon MP3 store to purchase individual songs or full albums over-the-air.(3)

"Palm Pixi continues Sprint's leadership in providing useful and innovative devices on America's most dependable 3G network,"(7) said Dan Hesse, chief executive officer at Sprint. "We are pleased to be the first carrier to bring this device to market and offer both devices in the growing Palm webOS family. Sprint's Everything Data plans, which provide unrestricted access to the Internet, mobile content and applications, and our Ready Now retail experience make for a perfect combination with these new Palm products."

The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network reaches more than 271 million people, 18,652 cities and 1,838 airports, and Sprint's networks are now performing at best-ever levels.

Customers who purchase Palm Pixi will benefit from Sprint's Ready Now, which the company pioneered to help customers leave the store educated, comfortable and confident about the phones they're taking home. It is like having a free personal trainer that educates you on all your phone can do by setting up all the applications you want to use on the device.

Palm Pixi is also the perfect complement to Sprint's Simply EverythingSM plan, which provides unlimited nationwide calling, texting, email, social networking, web browsing, GPS navigation, Sprint TV, streaming music, NFL Mobile Live, NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile and much more for only $99.99 per month. It's a savings of $1,200 over two years versus some comparable competitor plans.

Palm Pixi Features

* High-speed connectivity (EVDO Rev. A)
* 2.63-inch multi-touch screen with a vibrant 18-bit color 320x400 resolution TFT display
* Gesture area, which enables simple, intuitive gestures for navigation
* Exposed QWERTY keyboard for fast messaging
* Robust messaging support (IM, SMS and MMS capabilities), including Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo! IM
* High-performance, desktop-class web browser
* Integrated GPS(8)
* Multimedia options, including pictures, video playback and music, and featuring a 2-megapixel fixed-focus camera with LED flash, and a standard 3.5mm headset jack
* Email, including Exchange ActiveSync (EAS) (for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers), as well as personal email support (Google push, Yahoo! push, POP3, IMAP)(9)
* Bluetooth(R) 2.1 + EDR with A2DP stereo Bluetooth support
* 8GB of internal user storage (~7GB user available)(10)
* USB mass storage mode
* MicroUSB connector with USB 2.0 Hi-Speed
* The first handset to launch with Qualcomm's high-performance MSM7627(TM) chipset
* Proximity sensor, which automatically disables the touch screen and turns off the display whenever you put the phone up to your ear
* Light sensor, which dims the display if the ambient light is dark, such as at night or in a movie theater, to reduce power usage
* Accelerometer, which automatically orients web pages and photos to your perspective
* Ringer switch, which easily silences the device with one touch
* Removable, rechargeable 1150 mAh battery
* Dimensions: 55mm (W) x 111mm (L) x 10.85mm (D) [2.17 in. (W) x 4.37 in. (L) x 0.43 in. (D)]
* Weight: 99.5 grams (3.51 ounces)
* Sprint services, including Sprint TV(R) and Sprint Radio, Sprint Navigation, Sprint's exclusive NFL Mobile Live and NASCAR Sprint Cup Mobile Live

Availability and Pricing

The Palm Pixi phone is scheduled to be available from Sprint in time for the holidays. Pricing for the phone, as well as the limited-edition Palm Pixi Artist Series covers, will be announced closer to availability. Customers who would like to register to receive additional information about Palm Pixi and be notified when it's available can register at www.palm.com/pixi.

In addition, effective today the Palm Pre(TM) phone from Sprint is available for $149.99 with a two-year service agreement and after a $150 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate. You can find this great pricing at Sprint stores, on the web (www.sprint.com) and by calling Sprint's telesales group (1-800-SPRINT1). With the new Palm Pixi phone, and Palm Pre at a lower price, Palm and Sprint are bringing greater choice of Palm webOS phones to a larger audience.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Photos and video are available from Palm's media gallery at www.palm.com/mml.

Please add the tag #Palm #Pixi to your tweets or "Palm Pixi" to your blog posts about the all-new Palm Pixi phone running on Palm webOS, and follow Palm on Twitter at www.twitter.com/palm.

About Palm, Inc.

Palm, Inc. creates intuitive and powerful mobile experiences that enable consumers and businesses to connect to their information in more useful and useable ways. The company's groundbreaking Palm webOS(TM) platform, designed exclusively for mobile application, introduces true multitasking and Palm Synergy(TM), which brings your information from the many places it resides into a single, more comprehensive view of your life.

Palm products are sold through select Internet, retail, reseller and wireless operator channels, and at Palm online stores (http://www.palm.com/store).

More information about Palm, Inc. is available at http://www.palm.com.

(1) Within wireless coverage area only. Email, mobile number, and related information required for setup and activation. Required data plan not included; unlimited plan strongly recommended.

(2) Limitations apply. Layered calendars and linked contacts for Outlook require Exchange ActiveSync and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or later, sold separately.

(3) Within wireless coverage area only.

(4) Performance varies based upon actual usage.

(5) Third-party software available separately. Within wireless coverage area only.

(6) Compatible with iTunes 8.2.1 on Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X version 10.3.9-10.5.7. Within wireless coverage area only. Music sold separately. Please respect copyright laws when downloading music.

(7) "Dependable" based on independent, third-party drive tests for 3G data connection success, session reliability and signal strength for the top 50 most populous markets from Jan. '08 to Feb. '09. Not all services available on 3G and coverage may default to separate network when 3G unavailable.

(8) Coverage not available in all areas at all times.

(9) Outlook requires Exchange ActiveSync and Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 SP2 or later, sold separately.

(10) Storage estimate subject to change based on system software and application usage.

Palm, Pixi, Pre, webOS and Synergy are trademarks of Palm, Inc. Google and Google Talk are trademarks of Google, Inc. All other brand and product names are or may be trademarks of, and are used to identify products or services of, their respective owners.

SOURCE: Palm, Inc.

Palm Pixi Out Next Month

2009-11-01T08:31:00.000+08:00

The Palm Pixi will be launched next month, it has been confirmed.

A low-end alternative to the Pre – reviewed here - Pixi was unveiled on 9 September. But it has taken US carrier Sprint until today to confirm that the phone will be available in North America from 15 November.

Customers willing to sign a two-year service agreement with Sprint will be charged $200 for the Pixi after a $50 "instant" rebate. You'll get another $100 (£61/€66) back if you send in a coupon.

Sprint will offer various Pixi price plans, including one that provides unlimited mobile calls, nationwide texting, email and web browsing for $70 per month.

Pixi is compatible with the Pre's Touchstone wireless charging system and allows you to express your mood with a series of $20 interchangeable back covers.

Palm has already promised that Pixi will be sold in Europe, but the manufacturer hasn’t yet announced a specific UK launch date or carrier handshake.

Source: James Sherwood (26th October 2009 15:54 GMT)

Palm Pixi Built-In Location

2009-10-31T23:06:00.000+08:00

Find things to do and people around you, right from where you're standing. Like a nearby place for dinner after a late client meeting. Or the closest bar where you can meet up with friends. Even look up an address for a contact or from a calendar event, and map the location simply by tapping it. With Palm Pixi it takes two steps, not ten.

You will never get lost with this phone. Just bring your car's battery.

Petite Palm Pixi Simplifies, Pretties Up the Smartphone

2009-10-31T14:09:00.000+08:00

Wired’s Steven Levy reports on the latest phone from Palm.

Palm elbowed its way into the smartphone discussion this year with the introduction of its slick multitasking handset, the Pre. Now Palm is announcing a little sister, called Pixi.

The Pixi kind of looks like a Blackberry Curve after an inspired makeover by a pricey SoHo hair stylist and a liposuction doctor.

It’s more svelte than the Palm Pre — slimmer even, Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein notes, than its blood rival, the iPhone, made by his former employer. Like the Pre it has a small physical keyboard. But the Pixi’s keyboard doesn’t slide out; it squats below the screen, always in view.

What’s more, Palm is offering colorful custom back plates based on designs from what Rubinstein calls “upcoming artists.” The first five options, to be released in numbered editions of 5,000 each, include a snakeskin pattern, a hummingbird, a stylized skull, and a searing red desert landscape that, in the words of the artist, confronts “themes of isolation, fear, destruction and resilience.”

No wonder that the Pixi announcement comes just before Fashion Week in New York City, which Palm is co-sponsoring.

The Pixi’s diminutiveness isn’t limited to its waistline. It will be priced lower than the Pre — probably under $100 with a 2-year contract, but Rubinstein isn’t saying for sure. Its screen is smaller, with 320 x 400 pixels, as opposed to the Pre’s 320 x 480, and it has just 8 GB of memory. The software is the same webOS as used by the Pre, though there are new applications for Yahoo Messenger and Facebook, but Pixi has dropped the Pre’s single navigation button. (The functions of that control are evoked simply by tapping the screen.)

Pixi is also a bit slower than its big brother. Palm product manager Sachin Kansal says that in most functions it performs similarly to the Pre, but in multimedia apps, it’s less zippy. There’s no Wi-Fi. The target audience, he says, is people mainly interested in communications, as opposed to those who engage in lots of graphics-intensive activities.

Like the Pre, the Pixi runs on the Sprint network.

Rubinstein says to expect the Palm’s webOS family to grow even further. From the start, he says, he has instructed his software engineers not to do their designing for Pre, but “an OS for the next 10 to 15 years.” While the Pixi runs webOS in a smaller package than the Pre, he’s not ruling out something in the other direction.

Though some analysts estimate that the Pre’s sales have leveled off after its initial burst, Rubinstein is upbeat, saying that he’s proud of Palm’s performance against tough competition from Apple and RIM.

And what of Palm’s relatively sparse selection of apps — at 65 or so, roughly one thousandth of Apple’s ecosystem? “It sounds small, but they’re really good,” Rubinstein says. He promises that more will come as the Palm opens up to a wider range of developers.

Apple’s well-publicized rejections of certain apps may play in Palm’s favor, as Rubinstein says that he won’t discriminate. For example, he says, a Google Voice app for Palm is definitely coming.

As for that TV ad with the zoned-out sylph for a spokesperson, Rubinstein says that he’s heard pros and cons, but the campaign has tested well. “I’m no expert on ads,” he says, clearly distinguishing himself from his former boss in Cupertino.

The Pixi will be available “in time for holiday sales,” he says.

Source: Wired By Steven Levy | September 9, 2009

Palm Pixi Vs Palm Pre

2009-10-31T13:14:00.000+08:00

The Palm Pixi has been called a cheaper Pre, this has even led to Palm being criticized by consumers who feel that the Pixi is nothing but updated hardware that was designed for making the Pre smaller. The Palm Pixi does offer a few features that differentiate it from the Pre, but at the same time it loses a few features in the jump that are vital to some users. So should you use the Palm Pixi or the Pre? Let's outline a few of the key differences between the two phones.

Palm Pixi

The Palm Pixi, the newer model, has been praised for its keyboard because the phones design reverted back to the typical phone candy bar design. This means that the keys on the keyboard are permanently exposed because it’s not a slider like the Pre, but it also means that the QWERTY keyboard is elevated higher making the keys easier for the user to individually press.

A positive and a negative is the screen size of the Pixi. The size of the screen makes the screen harder to read due to the already small size of the Pre’s screen being decreased, but it doesn’t lose much in terms of visual clarity. If you can manage to squint at it some, the Pixi is no less powerful than the Pre in terms of screen quality and resolution.

The Pixi has the advantage of being the cheaper phone, but it’s unclear at this point as to how much the Pixi will actually cost. (Our guess is $99 after a rebate with a new contract.) The Pre is currently $150 which isn’t that expensive considering the alternatives on the market such as the iPhone, but a cheaper alternative is never bad.

Palm Pre

The most appealing thing that the Palm Pre has to offer that the Pixi doesn’t is Wi-Fi. Wi-Fi makes internet access convenient and easy no matter where you go, and it doesn’t help the Pixi’s case that Palm decided to scratch Wi-Fi for this model. You can buy a plan with unlimited 3G access which does solve the problem of internet availability, but this brings up the Pixi’s other fault, service providers.

While the Palm Pre offers many different providers around the world with Verizon soon to join the club in the United States, the rumor mill has the Pixi only offering service for Sprint users for the short term. This makes sticking with the Palm Pre a much easier endeavor as you may not even have to switch from your current plan to use the phone, and you don’t have to worry about getting unlimited 3G access.

The Palm Pre and Pixi are very identical in terms of phones; they’re almost carbon copies of each other in fact. The key differences between the phones are in their aesthetic differences, service providers, wireless access, and cost. Each of these phones has its advantages and neither is better than each other. Just remember to consult your needs specifically before making the final purchase. You can buy a Pre now and look for the Pixi to be released this holiday season.

Source: palmpixi.org

Palm Pixi Layered Calendars

2009-10-30T23:01:00.000+08:00

You live one life, so why not go to one place for your calendars? Palm Pixi pulls in your online calendars from places like Facebook, Google, and Office Outlook, and layers them into one view of your whole day. Show one calendar or show them all. And easily add public calendars, such as ones for sports teams, events, or TV shows.

You will never forget anything in this calendar features.

Palm Pixi Announced (+Video)

2009-10-30T12:55:00.001+08:00

Palm has officially announced the Palm Pixi on their Facebook page and on palm.com. The Pixi seems like a mass market phone that has many of the attributes of its older sibling, the Palm Pre. Here are the highlights:

* 320x400 display, 2.63"
* Exchange support
* GPS
* 8GB of storage
* 3.5mm Jack
* Web OS

Clearly, there's enough to make a lot of people happy. Now the real question is: how much will it cost? Oh, and from the photo above, you have guessed: it is customizable. If the price of the device *and* its data plan is right, this could be the bomb. Official video in the full post

Source: ubergizmo Posted on Sep 8, 09 10:46 PM PDT

Palm Pixi Multiple Activities

2009-10-29T22:56:00.000+08:00

Palm Pixi keeps up with the things you're doing, even when you're doing them at the same time. Say you're typing a message when a call comes in. Answer it, and go right back to the message. Then visit a website while you play some music. You can still return to that original message. Pixi keeps multiple activities open and lets you flip back and forth between them.

It's really amazing phone. I can do a lot. A nice gift to your loveones.

Palm Pixi Linked Contacts

2009-10-28T22:51:00.000+08:00

Each person's contact information is pulled in from places like Facebook, Google, Microsoft Office Outlook®, and LinkedIn, and combined under one entry.5 So instead of wondering where you kept someone's information, just think about sending that happy hour invite. And if your friend happens to be online using AIM, Google Talk, or Yahoo! Messenger, you'll see that, too.

I really liked this feature.

Palm Pixi Real Websites

2009-10-28T22:46:00.000+08:00

Visit real websites, not just the mobile versions. Palm Pixi gives you the experience you expect, and lets you scroll and zoom using natural, intuitive gestures. Not sure what site you're looking for? Type "taqueria" and universal search looks through contacts and apps, then offers to search Google™, Google Maps™, Wikipedia, or Twitter.4 One more tap opens up Google Maps, and gets you one step closer to whatever you're craving.

It's so useful to have a nice real website interface on a phone.

The Palm Pixi Advantage

2009-10-28T22:11:00.000+08:00

Pixi runs on the Palm webOS™ platform, so it does things no other phone can do. Take the Palm Synergy™ feature, which brings together related information and presents it in one simple view. Or the App Catalog, which gives you a choice of titles to download, many of which are integrated with other apps on the phone. And the ability to keep multiple applications open at once, so you can do more than one thing without losing your place.

I like this feature of Palm Pixi.

Palm Pixi Specs

2009-10-28T13:39:00.000+08:00

In many ways, the Pixi is to the Pre what the Centro was to the Treo. In some ways it’s the same phone, in others it’s a different beast. And a svelte beast this one is. Like the Pre, the Pixi features EVDO Rev. A, the touch sensitive gesture area, a full QWERTY keyboard, GPS, 3.5 mm headset jack, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, 8 GB of storage space (~7 GB user available), a MicroUSB port, proximity sensor, light sensor, accelerometer, ringer switch, the same 1150 mAh battery, and the same complement of Sprint services (NFL Mobile Live, NASCAR Sprint Cup, Sprint TV, Sprint Navigation, etc).

Where the Pixi most obviously differs is in layout. The phone is a slate-style device, featuring an exposed keyboard up front with an 18-bit color 320x400 pixel capacitive multi-touch display measuring 2.63 inches across. For comparison, the Pre’s screen is a 3.1 inch 320x480 screen, while the iPhone’s is 3.5 inches. The below-screen gesture area from the Pre carries over to the Pixi (we can likely expect it on all future webOS phones), though the card view button is not present - you now tap in the gesture area to pop up to the card view. Finally, the Pixi has a 2 megapixel camera with flash, compared to the Pre's 3 megapixel camera with flash. The Pixi also lacked the Pre's "extended depth of field" camera functionality.

The Pixi is also notably slimmer than most every other smartphone on the market. It is just 10.85 mm thin, less than the 12.3 mm iPhone 3Gs and the 16.95 mm Palm Pre. In fact, the Pixi is smaller in ever dimension than the iPhone and just a centimeter taller than a closed Pre. Complete dimensions are 10.85 mm deep, 111 mm tall, and 55 mm wide.

At 99.5 g (3.51 oz), the Pixi is also one of the lightest smartphones out there. For comparison, the iPhone 3Gs and Palm Pre both tip the scales at 135 g (4.8 oz).

Outward appearance isn’t the only place the Pixi differs from the Pre. The new phone sports Qualcomm’s new 'high-performance' MSM7627 chipset. In fact, it’s the first handset to launch with the new chipset, which Palm worked with Qualcomm to design. The Pixi also features and omission from the Pre, something that points to it slotting a lower-end status in Palm’s line-up: there’s no WiFi. While we don’t think that’s particularly cool, that and the smaller screen are two ways for Palm to easily differentiate the Pixi as a lower tier device than the Pre.

Changes aren’t just in the land of hardware, though. webOS will be seeing an update in the form of Yahoo! and LinkedIn joining Synergy. LinkedIn will bring full contact synchronization, even with details such as job titles. Yahoo sync will bring their contacts, calendar, and IM to the Pre. Both new additions will integrate with existing contacts to form the same unified contacts as webOS on the Pre, while Yahoo’s calendars will slot in with Google, Exchange, and Palm Profile and Yahoo IM will blend seamlessly with Google Talk, AIM, and SMS/MMS in the unified Messaging app. Oh, and support for Yahoo email will now be built in, with push!

Source: By Derek Kessler | Wednesday, Sep 9, 2009

Palm Pixi Services

2009-10-27T23:19:00.000+08:00

You won't lose it—even if you lose it. Palm Services automatically backs up your phone so you have a copy of your important data. You can also remotely erase your data if your phone is lost or stolen. And you get software updates that make it easy to stay up to date with the latest enhancements. All right over the air, right to your phone.

Check This for More.

Carriers Reveal Storm2, Palm Pixi

2009-10-27T15:04:00.000+08:00

New York - Verizon Wireless priced the BlackBerry Storm2 smartphone at $179.99, and Sprint priced Palm's Pixi at $99.99.

Verizon’s BlackBerry Storm2 becomes available Oct. 28 at $179.99.

The Storm goes on sale Oct. 28 through Verizon Wireless Communications stores, www.verizonwireless.com, business sales channels, and indirect channels. Its $179.99 price is after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year contract on a voice plan that includes email and Web access or with a BlackBerry email and Web plan. Data plans for the smartphone begin at $29.99 when added to any Verizon Nationwide voice plan. The rebate takes the form of a debit card.

The Storm2's BlackBerry OS 5 is also available as a free update to owners of the existing Storm. The OS is available today from www.blackberry.com/update or www.verizonwireless.com/storm.

For its part, Sprint announced Nov. 15 availability of Palm's second smartphone based on Palm's WebOS. Its $99.99 price is with two-year service agreement after $50 instant rebate and $100 mail-in rebate. The price requires activation on a pricing plan that includes unlimited data, including a plan that starts at $69.99. It will be available at Sprint stores, online at www.sprint.com, through telesales at 1-800-SPRINT1, and at Best Buy, RadioShack and select Walmart stores.

The Storm2, Research In Motion's second-generation touchscreen phone, will offer a more responsive touchscreen, more accurate typing on its virtual keyboard and other enhancements compared with its predecessor, Verizon said. It will also get Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g, which its predecessor lacked.

Sprint’s Palm Pixi
Sprint’s Palm Pixi at $99.99 becomes available Nov. 15.

Like Verizon's first Storm, launched late last year at $199 but currently retailing for $49, the Storm2 operates in 3G EV-DO Rev. A mode in the Verizon network and in 3G HSDPA mode in 2.1GHz-band networks overseas. Also like its predecessor, the Storm2 lacks a hard dialing keypad or QWERTY keypad, and their overall dimensions are the same, as is the 3.25-inch display size. Both also feature GPS for location-based applications, 3.2-megapixel camera and 1,400 mAhr battery.

With a new electronic version of SurePress touchscreen technology replacing a mechanical version, the new model responds quickly to gentle presses, the company said. The new SurePress also accelerates typing by allowing users to type one letter with one finger while another finger might still be resting on another letter. The enhancement also enables multi-key actions such as Shift- or Alt-key combinations.

The new model also adds BlackBerry OS 5, which delivers usability and visual enhancements including inertial scrolling, enabling finger-flick scrolling through contacts, pictures and the like. The OS also provides spin boxes to make it easier to set dates and times, gradient shading on buttons, more animation, sharper icons, brighter colors and blacker blacks than provided by the BlackBerry OS 4.7, RIM said.

In another change, a QWERTY-style keyboard will appear when the phone is held in portrait and landscape orientation. The phones' predecessor displayed a QWERTY keyboard in landscape mode but, in portrait mode, it displayed a dialing keypad with multiple letters per number.

In other changes, the new model incorporates 2GB of embedded memory, up from 1GB, and a microSD/SDHC slot with ability to support future 32GB cards, up from 16GB.

A proximity sensor blanks out the screen when a user is talking on the phone to prevent accidental touchscreen clicks.

The Pixi, a smaller and lighter version of Palm's Pre smartphone, features a fixed QWERTY keyboard compared to the Pre's slide-down QWERTY keyboard, and lacks the Pre's WiFi 802.11 b/g. Pixi's 2.63-inch 320x400-pixel TFT display is smaller than the Pre's 3.1-inch 320x480 display. The 3.51-ounce, 2.17x4.37x0.43-inch Pixi also comes with a new Facebook application.

Both Palm devices feature CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev. A 3G cellular technology, and both use Palm's new WebOS, which features a multitouch motion user interface, runs multiple live applications simultaneously, and stacks live screens from multiple applications on top of one another like a deck of cards. Consumers swipe a finger across the top card to "deal" it away, revealing the card underneath. Users can also stack multiple live Web pages or multiple email messages on top of one another.

Both Palm devices also feature Synergy, a feature that aggregates contact lists, calendar items and email messages from multiple sources, including Web-based sources. The contact list, for example, automatically combines contacts lists from a user's Outlook, Facebook, Google and other contact lists.

Like the Pre, the Pixi features integrated GPS, Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR with stereo support, and 8GB embedded memory. The resolution of the Pixi camera is 2 megapixels compared to the Pre's 3-megapixel camera.

The Pixi, however, adds removable rubberized back cover that can be swapped with a series of artist-designed, limited-edition back covers for personalization.

Other Pixi features include ability to link information on Google, Facebook and Exchange ActiveSync into a single view. It also ties in information from Yahoo! and LinkedIn. Users can get their Yahoo! contacts, calendar and IM, and access their LinkedIn contacts, including job titles. Users can also start a conversation on AIM Instant Messenger, Google Talk or Yahoo! Messenger and continue it by text message later, with conversation appearing as a single thread.

The device can also sync with iTunes, and it supports downloadable apps from the Palm Beta App Catalog. Support is included for SMS and MMS messaging and IM messaging, including Google Talk, AIM and Yahoo!

For email, the Pixi supports Exchange ActiveSync for access to corporate Microsoft Exchange servers as well as personal email support, including Google push, Yahoo! push, POP3 and IMAP.

Also like the Pre, the Pixi features removable rechargeable battery and a proximity sensor that automatically disables the touchscreen and turns off the display when the phone is placed against the ear. A light sensor dims the display in low-light conditions, and aAn accelerometer automatically orients web pages and photos into portrait or landscape mode.

It comes with standard 3.5mm headset jack and LED flash.

Although the Pixi comes with charger in the box, the smartphone is also compatible with the Palm Pre's Touchstone inductive charging dock, which lets users place the Pixi on top of the dock without plugging it into the dock. Touchstone is available in Sprint stores nationwide for $79.99 and includes a Touchstone charger and USB wall charger. The Pixi Touchstone back cover, which enables inductance charging is also available for $19.99 (plus taxes).

The Pre's price was recently reduced to $149 from $199 with two-year service agreement after $150 instant rebate and after $100 mail-in rebate.

Source: Twice By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 10/26/2009

Palm Pixi Review

2009-10-27T13:18:00.000+08:00

SAN FRANCISCO: Palm Inc., which revitalized its product line with the Pre smart phone launch in June, is hoping to keep momentum going with the release of a lighter, cheaper handset called the Pixi.

The company said Wednesday that the Pixi will be available during the holiday season in the U.S. through Sprint Nextel Corp., currently the Pre's exclusive wireless carrier.

Sunnyvale, California-based Palm would not divulge the Pixi's price tag, but confirmed it will be less than that of its big brother.

Sprint dropped the Pre's price by $50 to $150 on Wednesday, including two rebates and a two-year service contract.

"The combination of announcing a new device and changing the price on the Pre show we're aggressively pursuing new customers to get them accessing the WebOS experience," Katie Mitic, Palm's senior vice president of product marketing, said in an interview Tuesday.

The Pixi's release will mark Palm's second attempt in less than a year to use new software and streamlined designs to lure consumers in the still small but fast-growing smart phone market, which is dominated by Apple Inc.'s iPhone and Research In Motion Ltd.'s BlackBerry devices.

According to market research firm NPD Group, smart phones made up 28 percent of consumer cell phone purchases in the second quarter, up 47 percent from the same period last year.

Palm hasn't disclosed the number of Pre smart phones sold.

But its stock has more than quadrupled since the company unveiled the device Jan. 8 at the Consumer Electronics Show.

Like the Pre, the black, shiny Pixi will come with a touch-screen, full QWERTY keyboard and Palm's latest operating system, WebOS.

It will also have 8 gigabytes of built-in memory. But while the Pre's keyboard slides out from the bottom of the device, the Pixi's slightly smaller screen and keyboard both fit on the face of the candy bar-style handset.

The new smart phone is longer and slimmer than the Pre, and, at nearly 3.5 ounces, lighter.

It trades the Pre's center button for a tiny touch-sensitive bar that sits between the screen and keyboard.

As on the Pre, the real estate between the screen and keyboard also will be touch-sensitive for navigating the device.

The Pixi will sport a 2-megapixel camera, instead of its sibling's 3-megapixel version, and two small speakers rather than the Pre's single large one.

Building on an already available WebOS feature, the Pixi will be able to gather users' contacts from Yahoo and business-networking site LinkedIn.

The Pixi will include standard smart phone features like Global Positioning System, video and music players and a Web browser, but it won't have Wi-Fi.

A dedicated Facebook application will be released with the Pixi, Palm said. It is not yet clear if it will come loaded on the phone or will be available through Palm's online application store. - AP

Source: mobibu

Sprint plans to release Palm Pixi in mid-November

2009-10-27T13:14:00.000+08:00

Network World - Sprint will release the second Palm webOS device, the Palm Pixi smartphone, on Nov. 15, priced at $100, after $150 in rebates.

The Pixi, unveiled in September, will be available with a two-year cellular contract. Sprint is offering a $50 "instant rebate" at the cash register, with a separate $100 mail-in rebate. The Pixi will be available at the carrier's Web site and retail stores, and also at Best Buy, RadioShack and some Wal-Mart stores.

The Pixi offers a full, exposed QWERTY keyboard and a multitouch screen that is smaller than the one featured on its sibling, the Palm Pre, whose keyboard slides out vertically. The 3G phone lacks GPS and Wi-Fi, both of which are featured in the higher-end Pre.

Both phones run Palm's webOS system software, which has gotten good reviews from early adopters. It marries a Linux kernel with the Webkit Javascript and rendering engines. The combination lets Web developers use HTML, CSS and JavaScript to create applications that install and run natively on Palm smartphones.

The gesture-designed UI is built around the metaphor of a deck of playing cards, letting users shuffle applications onscreen and navigate between them. Like the Pre, Pixi uses Palm Synergy to create a single view of the user's information on Google, Facebook, and via Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync with Microsoft Exchange servers.

The result is a combined contacts list, different calendars that can be viewed separately or merged, and a messaging interface that brings together different e-mail systems, MMS and IM threads.

In addition, Pixi will add an integrated link to Yahoo and to a user's account on Facebook.

Source: computerworld By John Cox October 26, 2009 01:37 PM ET

Palm Pixi arrives on Sprint November 15

2009-10-27T13:03:00.000+08:00

It’s Palm’s thinnest phone ever. It lets you intuitively move back and forth between open applications using the multi-touch screen and natural gestures. And it’s coming to Sprint on November 15, for $99.99 (after rebates and with a two-year service agreement).

You can find your Palm Pixi at Sprint stores, Best Buy, select Shack and Wal-Mart stores, and online at www.sprint.com. Need a reminder e-mail on the big day? Sign up here.

Source: Jon Zilber

Introducing Palm Pixi, the newest member of the Palm webOS family

2009-10-27T12:59:00.000+08:00

All the power of Palm webOS -- including multitasking activity cards, Palm Synergy, intuitive notifications, and universal search -- will soon be available in a striking new form factor. Palm Pixi -- due on the Sprint network in time for the holidays -- is Palm’s thinnest phone ever. With a visible full keyboard and rubberized back cover, Palm Pixi is especially handy for extensive messaging and social networking.

Want to add a touch of extra style? The Palm Pixi Artist Series offers you a selection of limited-edition back covers in a range of eye-catching designs. Palm Pixi Artist SeriesYou can find all the designs in the first Artist Series here, and you can find more details about Palm Pixi here. And here’s some good news about the older sibling in the family: You can now purchase a Palm Pre from Sprint for as low as $149.99 with contract.

Palm Pixi Hands On: The Smaller Pre With A Better Keyboard and No Wi-Fi

2009-10-27T12:49:00.000+08:00

The Palm Pixi is just what you'd get when you ask your engineers to take the Pre, keep as much stuff as possible, but make it smaller. It's a keyboarded candybar (with webOS), but it loses some vitals like Wi-Fi.

The Details
The important bits: It still runs webOS, still has a keyboard, still only for Sprint (for now) and can pretty much do everything the bigger Pre can do. There's no Wi-Fi, but GPS and the accelerometer are still there. The Pixi is slightly lighter than the Pre, losing a lot of weight from not having to slide itself out to reveal a keyboard, but has a little bit of a lobotomized brain. Palm wouldn't get into details, but you can make out from the hints and insinuations that the CPU and the RAM were less of what you'd get with the Pre.

What you'd miss the most is the 80 pixels they had to shave off because of the smaller display. At 2.63 inches, all the Pixi can handle is a 320x400 resolution. This translates into more work for developers, who need to somehow manage two different resolution sizes as well hardware different specs if you want your app to run on both phones. Oh, and there's a 2-megapixel camera as opposed to the Pre's 3-megapixel camera.

Hands-on Impressions
The Pixi's handlers didn't give people a chance to manhandle the phone very much, despite my attempts at charming them by both showering and brushing my teeth beforehand, so the impressions are limited to some typing, some navigating and a lot of eyeballing. What I saw was good. It's the same OS, so you can do everything you could do before, but the ball is replaced by a touch "area"—the same area you'd use for the off-screen forward and back gestures before. Just tap it and you get the same effect as the Pre. And in all the apps I saw there wasn't a huge difference in speed between the two devices.

What's most surprising is that even though the keyboard is technically smaller on the Pixi than on the Pre, each key is more raised because there's no sliding lid to maintain clearance of. So even though the keys are slightly different and smaller, I was able to thumb out words faster and with fewer errors than before. High five.

Overall, it's definitely slimmer, lighter and more pocketable than the Pre. It has almost all the same features—no Wi-Fi won't affect your ability to download apps or music—so you're not missing on that much stuff if for some reason you choose the Pixi over the Pre. But when asked about whether or not you can run the same number of apps simultaneously, multitasking, as on the Pre, I was once again met with what amounted to "no comment." Think of it like a less pricey computer.

What's To Come
Palm is targeting the Pixi at the cheap man segment, the person for which $200 or $150 is too much for a phone, but something a little less is just right. (This person also wouldn't recognize that any difference would be dwarfed by the monthly phone bill anyway, but that's neither here nor there.) No concrete details on the price, but it's definitely going to be less than the $150 of the Pre.

There was no concrete launch date yet, but Palm's aiming for sometime "before the Holidays". The Pixi will come loaded with a native Facebook app as well as Synergy integration with LinkedIn and Yahoo. For those of you who like customized backplates, there will be a limited edition run of five artist-designed Touchstone-compatible backs just for you, provided you're among the people who order the limited edition backplates in time.