Palm today took the wraps off its Pixi smartphone, a smaller, cheaper version of the company's Pre handset.
Pixie has a QWERTY keyboard, smaller touchscreen, GPS, 8GB storage, and a two-megapixel camera. The phone doesn't have Wi-Fi, which is a feature that Palm will have available just for the Pre.
The official launch date and pricing remains unknown, except Sprint hopes to ship Pixi in time for Christmas. The phone is expected to be available at a price point around $99.
Sprint and Palm also confirmed the Pre price cut, which will now be available for $150 – after mail-in-rebates and instant rebates, of course.
Months leading up to the Pre launch, analysts and consumers were anxious to see how the Pre handset would work out for both companies. Much to Palm's dismay, the Pre failed to convince wireless subscribers to leave Verizon Wireless and AT&T for Sprint.
I obviously haven't seen a lot about this phone, but it will likely be popular among teenagers -- which is the demographic Sprint and Palm are targeting -- who are current Sprint subscribers. I believe it's highly unlikely people will abandon VZW and AT&T just to purchase a Pixi phone for their teenage son or daughter -- but it could help convince some Sprint subscribers to stay with the service.
This is Palm's second serious attempt to remain relevant in an evolving smartphone market that has effectively left the company behind. The company once led the PDA market, but hasn't been able to keep up with the likes of Research in Motion, Apple, and other smartphone makers.
