Palm Pixi Built-In Location

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.