Just as we'd
heard earlier this morning, today's the day that Palm and Sprint come clean with their undercover plans for the former's second-ever webOS device. The
Pixi, which we toyed with back on our
first Engadget Show, is slated to hit Sprint stores, Best Buy, RadioShack and select Walmart locations on November 15th for $99.99, but that's after a $50 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate that you'll be waiting ages for. Nothing here is all that surprising -- after all,
we knew it'd be on shelves before the holiday season -- but the $100 price point is downright depressing. The Palm Pre can be had right now for
just $150 (also on contract), and beyond that, both webOS devices are being offered on the exact same network. Throw this thing on Verizon,
AT&T or T-Mobile, and you've got a whole new wave of Palm customers; as it stands, who's really buying this with the Pre just $50 away?
posted Oct 26th 2009 10:27AM
It's about time. Damn rumor said the thing was coming out in October.
I wonder if that "Will it Blend?" guy will turn it into Pixi dust?
For some reason the layout of this phone really makes me want to switch from a 3GS to this. I dig the visible keyboard. Start throwing these to other carriers Palm!
"Who's really buying this with the Pre just $50 away?"
You would be surprised, quite a few people like the keyboard always visible without having to slide to access it.
(I still prefer to my Pre's slider to the Pixi's always visible keyboard).
I agree. I wish my Pre *didn't* slide. But I doubt I'll be switching (I mean, buying outright would be way too expensive).
If the camera was better & it had wifi I'd probably seriously consider it.
I returned my Pre because I didn't like the slider and constant need for 2 handed operation. I'd gladly trade in my Snap for another WebOS device.
Whether it's $99, or $299 means very little. Price of the device much less to me than the price of the contract does.
$100/month phone bills suck. grrrrrr
@crawdad689, 70USD a month since it's a Sprint "only" (going off the article).
i would buy this over the pre, i hate sliders.
Actually you're right. The slider is a big reason I didn't want the Pre, because dirt getting into my pocket on the construction site has already worked wonders on my G1. That and I didn't want the confusion of having the same phone as my wife.
I was half way waiting for the Eos to come out, I thought it would be cool to "buy American" but then they officially named it the Pixi. I already had a Centro, I was thinking of supporting them and that buying the second webos device would be cool. I could see the platform mature first had just like I have with the G1. Plus I could help Palm get a little more market share. But screw this Pixi crap. I can't go to the construction jobsite and say I got a Pixi. I might as well say I went and bought a butt plug. I'd be asking for personal ridicule. So I not getting a Pixi specifically cus they alienated the male demographic. I'm going to vote with my dollar and not buy their product. I mean you got guys running around with their mil spec Casio Boulder or Rock whatever you call it. That's a manly name, but i'd have a Pixi. No thanks but I would have bought an Eos.
Sucks for you Palm you did it to yourself.
No WiFi. That's $100 too much if it doesn't have WiFi.
@Doax
You are a straight-up idiot.
pixi is a gay name. what happened to all the outrage? everyone get used to the gay pixi name?
@Doax
wow...wow
Well obviously I'm in the minority on thinking that the Pixi name is too feminine. So maybe I wouldnt get ridiculed for owning one, on Engadget. Altho I still have beef with Webos not being able to forward SMS, no OSK or having Visual Voicemail. As for those who will say "why would you want an OSK on a phone with a 2.5" display stupid?" I'd like to have a T9 numpad OSK, like winmo has the option of using. T9 works great when you only have one hand available. Like when you're carrying something, or changing puppy pee pads with poopy gloves on one hand. Not fapping.
You guys think I'm crazy, but I'm sure if I bought a Pixi I'd hear it from my friends, as well as from the jobsite. To quote Brad Paisley "Yeah, with all of these men linein' up to get neutered it's hip now to be feminized. I don't highlight my hair, I've still
got a pair. Yeah, honey I'm still a guy." Have fun standing by the Pixi, and its feminine name. But I know most of you aren't buying one.
$200 to walk out the door - mass consumer product? No.
[btw - quoting the post-mail-in-rebate price as the actual price for ANY device is just wrong - mail-in rebates are used because the fulfillment of mail-rebates is MUCH less than 100%]
Best Buy doesn't do MIR. The Pixi will be $100 out the door at Best Buy.
RadioShack also does no mail-in-rebates on phones, so we can assume the $100 price right out the door there too.
I used to work in a Sprint store.
Everyone gets their rebates, it just takes some people one extra phone call to the rebate center to confirm their submission. If business is slow, the people in the store will call for you... so long as you are there.
Sad to see another perfectly good iPhone contender get owned like this. Makes you wonder whether any of those new Android phones even have a chance.
I would guess a lot of customers will jump on this due to form factor alone. Though it should come in other colors, like white.
It does come in quite a few back designs. Also white would look kind of ugly.
Hopefully we will get webOS 1.3 on November 15th too. Or sooner. MSN I want you!
Why Engadget never bothers to mention what kind of contract you need to get a phone for a certain price?
Don't you think that $50 a month vs $100 a month for two years make a big difference? (A way bigger difference than the initial "phone price"...)
I'm seriously confused...
Because the read link explains it all, you lazy man.
WmPenn: Following your logic, they could also leave out the "initial payment price" of $100, because it's explained in the link.
My point is that both the initial price and the contract price are important enough to be mentioned in the summary. If anything, the $70 plan price is more important, because $70*24 = $1680, which makes $100 not so relevant anymore.
In other words: I don't know why someone would care about $50 more or less for the first payment, when he'll pay (at least) $70 a month for the next two years.
I agree with your sentiments. I think I'd rather see Engadget publish the total cost. Instead of writing "Palm Pixi on sale November 15 exclusively at Sprint for $100 on contract" I would rather see, "Palm Pixi on sale November 15 exclusively at Sprint starting at $1780."
It is much more honest, however, when using this to compare against the iPhone, it doesn't work as well. The iPhone 3GS comes in at $1880 for total cost, but the service doesn't include any text messaging unlike Sprints unlimited plan.
Given that I would appreciate some more data in the summary if not necessarily in the title.
In case you don't know the Engadget drill yet it goes something like this... create a catchy smartass headline, mention very little if any relevent facts about the product, make a few snarky comments, occasionally take a low blow that's not warranted, and post a read link with the real info in it. That's your basic engadget blog formula. If you looking for accurate and detailed info on tech gadgets, Engadget probably isn't for you. ;)
The carriers have multiple plans at different prices. Do your own homework to find out what the total 2yr costs will be.
Anyone can get on a $60/mo. plan which is the same as the cheapest Everything Data Plan but with 500 minutes instead of 450.
Everything Plus - Almost all plans are cheaper and include more minutes.
Everyone essentially qualifies, but you gotta sign up with Sprint.
Once you get your device whether it's a Pre, Pixi, Hero, etc., if there's a price difference, call customer service and they'll credit your account.
It might just be the pragmatist in me, but it looks like your a little off...
Yep, i really want to spend 99 (and premium data plan) on a webOS phone with a slower processor, no wifi & low res screen. The Pre is already too laggy and barely usable.
I'll look at webOS when Palm decides to look at hardware like the HD2. Don't mind growing with ya Palm, but make it worthwhile why don't you?
the pre is barely usable? LOL k.
I dropped like half of my calls when I gave the Pre a try (especially when receiving calls). The phone app is crap. Too slow. Calendar is too slow.
So yep, barely usable.
I hate to see what the Pixi would be like with lesser specs.
agreed. while i love this form factor (i had a treo 700p on sprint once before), the lack of wifi absolutely kills it for me. i can deal with the decreased resolution and cpu speed, but no wifi is seriously an instant deal-breaker.
The Pre definitely has some issues or annoyances, but I still love webOS. YouTube videos show the Pixi chugging at 3 cards, so it kinda makes it hard to justify purchasing. I'm surprised Palm is happy with the Pixi's performance at all.
As for the Pre, mine was messy and buggy but I got it when it first came out. Had a problem with build quality, and from what I see on forums I made the right call.
I wonder if the patch that allows me to have ~25 cards open on the Pre will work to get 12-13 cards open on the Pixi...
Actually, the Pre can be had for $100 at Amazon, without any rebate madness. I was hoping for at the most $70 on the Pixi, but I guess it's more just an alternate form factor than a separate tier.
Except the Pre is $150 at Sprint and the $99 price for the Pixi is also at Sprint.
THUS, if the Pre is available for $80-100 (i.e. $70-50 cheaper) than the native Sprint price elsewhere, you can likely expect the same scenario for the Pixi- i.e. $29-49.
Think people think.
It's looking like _every_ webOS device is going to have to have that rather aesthetically unappealing blank area below the screen (for gestures). That's a pity...you could get more screen on there if you didn't need that.
More likely the gesture area was enlarged because the screen is smaller, not the other way around.
"as it stands, who's really buying this with the Pre just $50 away?"
People who don't need to slice cheese with their phone?
"who's really buying this with the Pre just $50 away?"
People who don't want a slider that twists like a turntable after a month. Or people who have pudgy fingers who despite the fact that the device uses the same buttons, can not use them with the spacing on the pre.
I'd consider trading in my Hero for this thing if they make the keyboard less sucky than the Pre's. From what I've read so far it sounds like they might have.
Yeah, I believe the keys on this are raised much higher since they don't have to meet the clearance of the slider.
Pixi is exciting because of it's form factor. The fact that it can only run 3 cards without chugging or that it has limited memory or no wifi is a huge issue...but I still find myself wanting it for the form factor.
Palm! Stop making me have to compromise!
A new webOS update should optimize the RAM usage. I think Palm is still engineering webOS to take advantage of their awesome hardware, because currently we have:
- RAM Usage Errors
- CPU Scaling OFF (this largely accounts for battery life issues -- it's always running at 500Mhz!)
- CPU Underclocked (again, 500Mhz)
- GPU is OFF (whabuzzah?!)
- App partition is static (there is an app storage limit)
I'm expecting Palm to nail these in the next 6 months, and once they do, to see a revolution in both the Pre and Pixi.
If they don't, well... webOS will have no place as a top-tier OS.
You see the size of that man's thumb? You'd need pixie sized hands to push them. And since a pixie is a mythological figure I fold. Good day sir.
Why does sprint (and everyone else, really) continue to pork everyone with bs prices. If its $99, sell it for 99. Stop with the 50 instant, then 100 mail in. This is why they stink! PU.
The 50 instant makes you feel like you're getting a deal or being treated special, or it's supossed to. The MIR is about collecting interest while they sit on your money, and benefiting from (1)breakage, where you do something wrong or lose a paper and can't get your MIR or (2)not caring/forgetting to do the MIR.
It's a scam that works wonders.
That stuff only works if you don't send in the rebate and check it's status online afterward. I don't like them either but i've never had a problem with Sprint fulfilling one. Anyway if you don't like them go to Best Buy or Radio Shack and get instant satisfaction as they give you instantly credit the Sprint rebate.
The Pre can also be had for only 99.99 at wirefly.com right now.
Or you can buy it for 79.99 @ www.cellulardeals.com
Enough with the 100 dollar a month phone bill nonsense.
This phone, like ANY sprint phone can be had for the 69.99 everything data plan.
And for the folks bitching about 450 minutes - that's landline only. 7am to 7pm only. Mon through Fri. Most people are at work this time do day anyway. Any mobile any time freed up A LOT of minutes from your plan.
Don't forget the all inclusive data, messaging, navigation, TV, radio, BIS (if you need it), and you can use a corporate discount. 70 per month before corp discounts is sweet.
Pixi, Pre. BB, Android, Winmo, dumbphones..... Sprint is the ONLY company that understands data is data.
Here here
Exactly.
Precisely why I am dying to find a phone to fall in love with on the Sprint network.
Hear, hear!
I have 3 Heros, a BB and am thinking about the pixi for the G.F. to round out the everything data 1500 plan. With my 25% corp. discount, it works out to $28 each a month before taxes and fees.
Can't be beat. Find 4 friends, a corporate discount, and stop living on the second-rate phones SERO people!
That's very true. My family 1500 plan used to have 300-500 minutes remaining by the time the billing cycle ended. Now, I got 1100 left, less than ten days from when my minutes reset. Heck, I tell my mother to go ahead and call her sister in Texas rather than use the house landline, lousy long distance rates,
@Please Forgive Me
Consider the Hero. It's a great phone... my only real gripe with it is the virtual keyboard. It can get very laggy sometimes. I think it'll be fixed in an update, not sure though.
The Samsung Moment looks pretty good too.
damn straight!
Couldn't have said it better. +1 for you sir!
Does anyone have any info on whether or not this will be available on sero? So far most people are saying no, but who knows right?
It's webOS and the Pre isn't, so no. If you're sticking with Sero, it'll only work with most dumbphones/feature phones from now on, and WinMo (atleast for now). No new hot smartphones. You'll have to switch to Everything Plus or ignore most of the hot items.
and the Pre is*
$100 is twice what this should cost. It is a low-end smartphone. No WiFi, small screen, and potentially the same (lack) of build quality as the Pre.
I think, $49 on all major US carriers makes this a real competitor for the casual user who wants to get into a smartphone. $100 on Sprint makes this just another also-ran that will be forgotten a week after it is released.
> ...makes this just another also-ran that will be forgotten a week after it is released.
Based on stock price non-movement, it's already been forgotten.
You may be right. Palm has really screwed up a great opportunity with WebOS. First, they chose Sprint, which made it impossible for them to make a long sustained splash. Then they have been dragging their feet getting the Pre or any other WebOS phone on other carriers in the US or internationally.
Palm has lost any momentum they had, and now with Apple and RIM being ever-present, Android gearing up for a big push and WinMo 7 getting ever closer, it will be very difficult for Palm to get going again. They certainly won't do it with the Pixi at $100.
Definitely right. When I look at this, it screams "Centro Replacement" - Everyone I know with a centro says that they are ready for an upgrade.
Entry level device.
Is the Touchstone ONLY a charging device? They need to make it a syncing platform, too.
The Touchstone is a charging DOCK; it needs a separate charger connected to it to do the charging part. It also requires a special back for the device.
You don't need a special back for the Pixi... it ships with the Touchtone back already.
That means you can get the charger standalone for $40 at PreCentral. Not bad.
The whole point of WebOS is to sync OTA with the cloud. Follow to logical conclusion.
Sorry, wrong, the Pixi does not come with a Touchstone back. There's an aftermarket Touchstone back that's plain black, as well as the aftermarket "Designer series" backs.
I am glad that I saw this, I was considering either the pixi or the HTC hero, I knew I did not want the pre because I honestly hate the hardware. But now that I know that it is 100, I'm just going to shell out the difference and get the hero. 100 is not worth the drop in performance, and the lack of apps in the webos store.
I guess that anyone who chooses to buy the Pre or this Pixie has never had the opportunity of trying one of the newer Android devices.
Americans now can get the (amazing) Hero and soon even the Sholes will hit american shelves, why would anyone choose a Palm?
Fond memories of a long gone past?
What exactly does Android do that would make it a better option than the Pre or webOS?
If you ask it means that you have never used an Hero.
I could name dozens of features but I would give you only one that makes android the best OS bar none: the android market with its incredible free apps.
I also have a Nokia N97 and an HTC touchHD (my HD2 will arrive nov 1st) and have had an iPhone 3gs and an Omnia (i900) and if it's true that the Apple store has more apps in absolute numbers the number of free apps and specially their quality is with no equal (sat nav progs., aug. reality apps, camera apps, anything you wish is there and it's free.
Add SenseUI and you have a perfect OS.
Why did I pre order the HD2?
Because the Hero misses 2 things to be teh perfect phone: a voice dialing app and a screen big enough to be used for sat nav while driving.
If the Sholes will address these 2 factors I'll be all over it (as long as it comes to Europe).
When next week I will receive my HD2 I will sell the TouchHd and the N97, not the Hero though: it's just too good.
I hope it has not the shitty build quality of the palm pre.
What's wrong with the build quality?
When I owned a Pre, it had some major build quality issues. The slider had what's commonly called the "oreo" issue. It basically became very loose and you could twist it around. It also just felt somewhat cheap.
If the Pre had the build quality of the Hero and expandable memory then I would've gone for it. But unfortunately, Palm still hasn't really taken care of the build quality and the expandable memory will have to wait for the Pre 2 (or whatever they'll call the successor to the Pre). It's a shame because I really like webOS.
As much as the Pixi 'should' be my next phone (current Centro, former Treo 650 & 600 user), My data plan is currently only $10/month for each family plan phone. If I can't keep my legacy data plan, I'll switch to a phone that I can use it on or I'm off to another network. I thought the recession was still going on, and with unemployment still > 12% in california, who expects consumers to pay double or triple data charges? It's not finanically prudent.
And to those who fawn over the pre or pixi with lots of cash burning a hole in your pocket? Feel free to subsidize my contract and a new phone plan. I'd love to have either phone, but the monthly cost increase just doesn't make sense for me.
Maybe you should have gone to college?
even educated people are unemployed. douche.
db.
The Pixi wouldn't be that bad if it had larger, useable keyboard and the same screen size as Pre
Mfrs constant goal of making handsets smaller until they lose functionality is a bad trend
I don't mind larger handsets as long as they provide excellent functionality
these tiny devices are useless to me. Look at the Pixi tiny rubber nubbins keyboard. Its useless compared to the excellent keyboards on the Treo 600 and 700 series
I've got a Treo 600 (and 755p) sitting beside me and I find the Pre's keyboard to be superior, personally. The Pixi will have a slightly larger keyboard than that even. The 'sticky' soft texture of the Pre keys just feel better, without being the mushy mess of a keyboard that I had on my Moto q9c.
Tiny useless button keyboard = FAIL
PALM for Pre II slap on the good `old Treo 600/700 series keyboard with the current screen, add SD memory slot, better build quality and you may have a winner.
I think until you've actually held one you should hold off on the "FAIL". The keyboard is much, much better than the Pre's due to the keys being vertically taller.
Is this phone touchscreen too?
Yep- it's capacitive multitouch.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palm_Pixi
cool, cool, cool. I'm getting one!
Currently a Centro/ipod Nano owner. Pixi is the close to replacing both of those for me.
Its light/slim form factor combine with iTunes sync can easily replace my Nano. The fact that it has A2DP stereo Bluetooth support integrated, means I can connect it with my Sony bluetooth headphones makes this close to a deal-MAKER. No more wires.
Coming from the Centro, not having wifi is not a big deal to me. What keeps me from purchasing this is SERO, currently paying $28/mo (incl Tax, Fees, Corp Discount, $30/mo plan). Can't see myself upgrading to a $70/mo plan.
This is worth keeping in mind should you choose to buy a Palm Pre.
Buying it from Amazon for $100 is great, but you will find a $37 activation fee on your first bill.
If you buy it from Sprint's online store, there's a nifty little trick whereby you get an additional $50 credit on your account, which is split over the first two bills.
All you have to do is get to the stage where your order is listed. Towards the bottom right is the "Checkout" button. To the bottom left is a "Cancel Order" button. Hit "Cancel Order" and the Sprint website directs you to a page titled "Order Now and Save"
The page states, "Buy now and save an extra $50 with an invoice credit for each device you order online today with a new line of service.
Click on "Apply Discount " below to return to your shopping cart with the discount automatically applied."
While you still have to wait for your rebate, the blow is softened by the $50 credit. Sprint also offers next-day delivery for free - so I ordered my phone on a Thursday morning and received it on Friday afternoon. You're basically getting the Pre for $100 all-in from Sprint, rather than for $137 from Amazon, Best Buy or Wallmart.
webOS glory got owned as soon as the hero and all this news about android on sprint and verizon started appearing, since the pre is going to verizon also. Palm needs to stop with that half assed app store they have and fire it up. the OS got potential but it looks almost as if it was rushed it wouldnt hurt them at all if they released a similar looking pre device on android that would definetly beat out anything on the market
If i was on the verge of getting the Pixie or the hero. point out some features that would make me go for an android phone. PLS
For everyone posting that the Pixi won't sell because of the form factor being too small, remember that the same thing was said about the Centro when it was released and it ended up selling millions.
I have a Pre now and previously had a Centro. My wife still has a Centro and will be upgrading to the Pixi when it comes out. She has no problems with the Centro's keyboard and would rather have the compact size rather than a more spaced out keyboard.
I'm getting one for my wife. She is completely in love with it.
Same with mine, I was going to get a pre for myself, but im now thinking pixi.
Having owned the Pre for about a month, I think the Pixi would be a good option if it had wifi. The slider mechanism on the Pre was iffy. and yes it was annoying to have to open the slider just to text "okay" to someone.
That being said, my biggest problem with the Pre was the lag. I doubt the Pixi will do much better.