Palm Pixi review
By Joshua Topolsky 
posted November 12th 2009 9:00AM
posted November 12th 2009 9:00AM
Hardware
Like the Pre, the Pixi is an incredibly sexy piece of hardware. Whether your prefer larger devices or not, you'd be hard pressed to deny the sheer attractiveness of this phone. The general size and shape certainly calls forth memories of the Centro, but while the previous version was chunky and playful, the Pixi comes off more like its distant cousin... from the year 3000. The plastic device is light, but doesn't feel cheap at all, and Palm has smartly chosen the materials; the front is done in a piano black, high-gloss coat, while the standard back is soft-touch material. The candybar phone has rounded edges much like the Pre, though the width of the Pixi tapers slightly towards the bottom, giving it a sculpted, continuous feel. Unlike the Pre, the Pixi ditches the physical center button for a thin, LED slit which works just as the button does, though sometimes it's a bit odd not having a physical target. Speaking of thin, did we mention what a sliver this thing is? It measures just 0.43-inches thick -- that's thinner than the iPhone (for those keeping count).
As you probably know, you can also pick up Palm's "artist series" of interchangable backs, three of which will be available for pre-order (but not purchase -- they'll be available early December) on the day the Pixi launches. The $49.99, limited edition, Touchstone compatible backs are being released in small batches, and will be replaced with new designs once the initial pieces sell out. A nice touch if you're psyched on customizing your phone, though the first offerings aren't incredibly varied.
The front of the phone is outfitted with a 2.63-inch capacitive touchscreen, and a tiny, full QWERTY keyboard with four neatly arranged rows of Tic-Tac keys. Up top you'll find the power / sleep button (which we found a bit awkward and difficult to push in) and 3.5mm headphone jack, along the right side is a volume rocker and elegantly concealed MicroUSB port, while on the backside you've got the camera lens, small flash, and two speaker vents (though there's only one speaker here). Overall, it's major step up from the Centro, and we'd argue that the Pixi is actually more attractive than the Pre -- certainly the plastic doesn't feel quite as hollow, and decisions about button placement and how to get at the MicroUSB have been noticeably improved. We tip our hats to Palm's industrial design team: they're now two for two.
Internals
The Pixi differs somewhat from the Pre on the inside. Instead of that speedy, OMAP3 CPU the Pre uses, Palm cut down on size and battery drain by using the Qualcomm MSM7627 processor clocked to 600Mhz. We think there are some noticeable differences between the two phones when it comes to performance; the Pixi certainly seemed to struggle at times when pushing pixels around (more on that in the software section). Also onboard is 8GB of ROM / user storage, and an alleged 256MB of RAM. The phone sports EV-DO Rev. A for voice and data, and -- as famously noted -- no WiFi. You'll also find a 2 megapixel camera with LED flash here (a step down from the Pre), as well as an accelerometer, proximity sensor, and ambient light sensor. In all, it's a fine little package, but the slower processor, no memory expansion options, and lack of WiFi certainly are an issue if you're going to go hardcore with this thing.
Display
As we said, the Pixi has a miniature, 2.63-inch capacitive touchscreen with a resolution of 320 x 400 (80 less than its big brother). One of the huge advantages of webOS is that the UI can physically scale itself to fit screens of varying resolutions, so while the display is tiny on the Pixi, the OS does an admirable job of squeezing into place. Still, that tight screen real estate is definitely noticeable, and though we felt it's certainly usable, this is one of the rare cases where we actually found ourselves squinting at some of the onscreen text. In particular, when you're zoomed out on cards, seeing your content is a bit of a challenge. In terms of color and clarity, the performance was more than passable, though overall we did feel the brightness was slightly lacking on the model we tested. There is a bit-depth difference between the Pixi and the Pre (18 bit versus 24), and while we don't really see anything amiss, there supposedly can be issues with apps hard-coded for the higher depth.
Keyboard
Look, we're just going to say it: the Pixi's keyboard is totally awesome. Admittedly, we weren't expecting fireworks when we first laid eyes on this tiny QWERTY, but the experience of using it day to day has been nothing short of a revelation. You would think that the tight spacing and tiny keys would make typing a difficult task, but Palm has cleverly given the Pixi keyboard snappy tactile feedback and a substantial height boost, making tapping away a serious pleasure. Weirdly, typing on the Pixi keyboard is kind of like using the iPhone keyboard -- they have a similar size, shape, and spacing -- but of course, you've got the advantage of physical keys with the Pixi. While we still wish Palm would step up its autocorrection in the software, we did find ourselves making less mistakes with the Pixi than we do with the Pre, which is saying something. Palm has always had knack for making quality keyboards, and the Pixi's micro size doesn't seem to have held the company back from doing it again. Thanks to this keyboard, we're more convinced than ever that a portrait QWERTY is the most efficient and natural arrangement for physical input.
Speaker / earpiece
The earpiece on the Pixi seemed to be about on par with the Pre -- we don't have many complaints in that department -- but the speaker is a slightly different story. Generally, we found the external speaker on the Pixi to be a bit quiet for daily use on conference calls and the like. It seemed like our audio quality was coming through fine, but the volume on the speaker output just wasn't that loud (we regularly found ourselves reaching for the volume rocker only to realize we'd hit our limit). The same is true for system notifications; thanks to the quieter speaker, we nearly missed a few messages. It's not a deal breaker, but we definitely could have dealt with a bit more volume on our hands-free calls.
Camera
We'll be honest in saying we're disappointed that Palm dropped the camera resolution down to 2 megapixels for the Pixi. Look, we know you want to separate the Pre and this device, but killing image quality isn't a great place to start. In general, the camera takes fine photos, though the flash can be incredibly harsh on some subjects (like white dogs, for instance). As with the Pre, the Pixi has almost no delay between snapping photos, so it's great if you're a busybody when it comes to capturing memories. Of course, also like the Pre you get almost no options for your images (save for flash on or off), and there's no video recording option here. Our verdict is that it's a decent camera for a $99 phone, but we like our gadgets to be a little aspirational.
Software
The first thing you should know about the Pixi and its accompanying operating system -- webOS 1.3.1 (also due on the Pre, though not when the Pixi launches) -- is that it's not terribly different from anything you've seen on the Pre. If you own a Pre (or have recently checked one out... or have read our lengthy review), the experience is largely the same, though there are some new additions that Palm is touting with the Pixi.
Most notable is the availability of Yahoo! accounts for the phone's Synergy profiles. As with Gmail, Yahoo! integration means you pull in the mail, calendar, and messaging content from your account (not fun if you've had a pile of spam messages waiting, like we did). Overall the process is painless, but one note: if you're pulling down a lot of data, the sync process over EV-DO is less than snappy... and you should probably get used to that with the Pixi. We're still not happy that Palm doesn't give you the ability to gatekeep those accounts and weed out the contacts you don't want or need, but Synergy seems to be doing a much better job with keeping everything in one place. Of note in the newer versions of webOS is the ability for Synergy to connect AIM accounts with Gmail or Yahoo! contacts -- functionality that wasn't originally part of the OS.
Palm has also added a Facebook app for the phone, though in terms of functionality, this one ranks fairly low. It's essentially your feed of friend's status updates -- a kind of alternate Twitter really -- where you can also post your status along with links or photos. In our experience it worked well, but we would have loved some deeper interaction beyond updates, like full profile views, for instance. We imagine that Palm will build on what they have here, but if you're walking into this expecting the full experience you get on Android or the iPhone, you'll be disappointed.
Obviously tweaks have been made to get webOS working on a totally different chip than the Pre's, and for the most part Palm seems to have gotten it right. We did, however, run into some frustrating performance issues that made using the phone not just tough, but downright annoying.
It does seem that some of the OS speed has been a causality in the transition to the less powerful CPU, and on a fairly regular basis we experienced freezes, extreme lag, and an unresponsive screen. We didn't have the phone crash out on us, but when transitioning between cards, loading content in web pages, and other basic tasks, the phone had plenty of hiccups. We get the sneaking suspicion that the EV-DO-only connection could be a culprit as well; when you combine a slower processor with a slower data connection, something has to give. We also noticed that email updates and other connected services seemed to be intimately linked with the phone's sleep states -- it didn't seem to be updating as frequently when sleeping, and the EV-DO connection was slow to reconnect for us when waking the device up.
We also saw problems with sleeping the phone and waking it up, with the device not really snapping to life the way you would expect, which then caused us to re-tap the button, which of course meant we put the phone back to sleep. It was an annoying process that felt -- again -- like the phone was being asked to more than it could really handle.
While these problems were fairly regular, moving through cards and apps seemed really speedy on the Pixi -- faster than our Pre in some instances -- and the screen also felt ultra responsive. In fact, scrolling through email and webpages felt more accurate to us on the Pixi, like the screen sensitivity has been cranked up while the kinetic bounces and scrolling have been toned way down.
We walked away from the experience of using the phone day to day somewhat bummed out by the lack of horsepower. While Palm wasn't breaking any world records with the speed of the Pre, it was a consistent, enjoyable experience. The same can't be said about the Pixi -- and we're hoping they can work through this with a software update.
Battery life
In our real-world tests, the battery life on the Pixi was good, but not great. We can't knock the phone too much, as it did seem to perform better than the Pre. Our feeling is that battery life on devices like the Pixi and CLIQ -- always-on, always connected -- is a nut that hasn't been fully cracked. We were able to eke out a day's use on the Pixi, but it was tight, and if we really went for it, a dinner time recharge was in order. We assume -- as with the Pre -- that we'll see some bigger aftermarket batteries for the Pixi, but for now, you'll want to keep your charger on hand and hope that a wall socket is nearby.
Wrap-up
Going into this review, we knew that the Pixi had some cards (no pun intended) already stacked against it. For starters, it's a Sprint device, which would be all well and good if Palm didn't have an extremely similar device on the same carrier for nearly the same price-point. Secondly... Palm has an extremely similar device on the same carrier for nearly the same price-point. We say "extremely similar," but what we really mean is "much faster and better equipped." You can't ignore the fact that not only does the Pre exist, but it has a larger screen with a higher resolution, WiFi capability, a larger keyboard (though not necessarily better in our opinion), a better camera, and a price tag which is dangerously close to the Pixi's. We mean a difference of $50. Now, we don't know about you, but if we were to compare these two side-by-side, the real deciding point wouldn't be that small amount of money (hell, if you're moving up to a data plan, $50 up front should be the least of your concerns). And that's not even taking into account the outside forces at work on potential buyers. A $99 smartphone might have seemed like a steal two years ago, but these days you can have one of the best Android devices on a larger network (the Droid Eris on Verizon), or an iPhone 3G on AT&T for the same price -- so 100 bucks doesn't seem like the crazy value it once was.
No, the real question you'd have to ask yourself when thinking about the Pixi would really be purely about design -- namely, which form factor you preferred. Now -- assuming you're dead set on Sprint as a carrier -- that would be a valid point if one of these phones was, say, a full touchscreen device with no physical keyboard. Then you'd have something. But the fact is that these phones are closely matched in both features and design -- save for those items we just mentioned -- and the Pre doesn't lose out in a single category (unless you consider "smallest" to be a major factor, and even then you don't have a lot ground to stand on). So, why buy the Pixi? Well we're not really sure. Is it for Centro upgraders? Perhaps, but again, the Pre does exist. Palm offers a better device on the same network for nearly the same price... and that's a fact we can't ignore. We think there's a lot of room for evolution in the world of webOS, both on Sprint and (hopefully) with other carriers, and we eagerly await a less lateral move.
Update: As some commenters have pointed out, the Pixi is showing up for $29.99 (after an instant discount) at Walmart online right now. Let's be very clear here -- one of our major issues with this phone was that it doesn't offer enough differentiation from the Pre, a point which is particularly important when there is only a $50 difference between the two. Without question, this phone for $30 is an incredible value and without compare in the world of smartphones. If that kind of price becomes the norm with this device, it would be hard not to recommend it to buyers.
Its going to be hard to replace this phone for the Centro because it requires a data plan. If this could be on a talk/text plan than it may get a bigger segment of the population. Unfortunately no data would kill its sweet capabilities, kind of a catch 22.
If I were Palm , I will release an unlocked GSM version of the Pixi with WIFI at a price point of $199
It would crush the feature phones. Just imagine a WebOS device at that price point , unlocked without a contract and no requirement for a carrier data plan.
Josh righly said , with the Pre available on the exact same carrier and at almost the same price point this adds no value.
really waiting for Palm to bring out a WebOS phone with a bigger keyboard. I tried the Pre several times, and even though I love the phone and think WebOS is the best phone OS out there, I just can't go for it because of that keyboard, so went with the Hero, which is a great phone too (and I got it for 129.99). Hoping in a year when I can upgrade again Palm will have a phone I can bring myself to buy :D
One of these websites needs to do a clear numeric battery life rating that actually maps to real life and includes idle use times as well as talk times.
Palm Pre is absolutely amazing in terms of elegant software and functionality and has a perfect form factor. The worst part is the battery life. Even without making phone calls, the phone will go through a full charge in 10 hours of just being on.
I'd rather use a dumbphone for basic phone/SMS that can last for a week on a single charge. Yet both my dumbphone and the Palm Pre have "specs" of "5 hour talk time".
Man, I don't know what you're running on your Pre but I can get 2 days of standby if I do absolutely nothing with it. With normal use I can get about 14 hours out of it.
"For starters, it's a Sprint device, which would be all well and good if Palm didn't have an extremely similar device on the same carrier for nearly the same price-point. Secondly... Palm has an extremely similar device on the same carrier for nearly the same price-point."
Repeat after me: PROOF READING IS AN IMPORTANT THING.
Otherwise, good review! It blows my mind that they didn't include wifi. Why the hell not? The hardware doesn't cost much, and the whole experience would be greatly improved with wifi. Especially when the Pre isn't many bucks away.
I'm pretty sure that wasn't a typo or proof-reading error. The repeat is intentional, kinda like saying "the first rule of fight club is you dont talk about fight club.. the second rule of fight club is - you dont talk about fight club!"
@MrThunderfield Yeah, looks like you need to take a few classes on internet humor.
Anyone know where I can get the Background image on that Pixi?
looks like an eboy wallpaper
As a new sprint customer and Pre owner, I agree that they need to expand webOS to other carriers, because lets face it, sprints network isn't the best, but if you live somewhere where the network is good (ie Wichita,KS where I am) you cannot beat sprints value when talking about their plans. I will say this about the pixi and hope no one takes this as sexist, but My wife loves it(she has a pre now and wishes she had waited), she came from a dumbphone and never turns wifi on on her pre. A lot of women in my family love the look of pixi, its simple and pretty.
Sounds like the perfect smartphone for wives.
Would you consider giving the Pixi more slack when you can buy it at $29.99?
http://www3-walmart.letstalk.com/product/browse.htm?pgId=100&serviceCorpId=545
Why are Web OS users always playing Habbo Hotel
pool's closed, etc.
Hey, thanks for the review and where you do you guys get your screen savers for all of the phones you review?
eboy wallpaper
Im a store manager with Sprint and we have some in stock. But no, we are not selling them yet. Its a little small when you look at it, but when you hold it and use one, it's pretty slick. I wish it were a little bigger, maybe along the lines of the Treo Pro (minus all that typical Palm buttonery {is that a word?}) in the middle. I also like the absence of the center button, it's so much easier to just flick up to minimize the cards. Its a winner for 99.99, considering the features.
Josh - Can you compare the keyboard experience to that of the Centro? I can't tell from the review, but it seems that the keyboard is almost identical to the centro, but you seem to like it more.
The key material is different than the Centro's (more firm but still slightly gummy) and the keys are taller than both the Pre and the Centro. That and each key has more feedback when it's pressed vs. the Pre or Centro.
While I know it shouldn't be necessary, I'm sure tweaks that have been available for the pre for some time will help speed up the pixi, and theres two reasons I'd rather have the candybar form factor over the slider.
1) While slider phones are sleek and pretty cool, the build quality issues that have arisen with the pre are a serious concern for me.
2) Better keyboard sells me. I've never really used a virtual keyboard that I've enjoyed, mainly due to lack of physical feedback(even haptic doesn't cut it) and after playing with a friends centro I just really love the palm keyboard.
Lastly, after playing with webOS on the pre, I've just completely fallen in love with it. Either way, 30 days and it it just unacceptable, Hero/Eris all the way.
And maybe when I'm eligible for an upgrade look into webOS 2.0 offerings next year.
I agree with this. That's while I'd really like to test it out. UI lag would not bother me so much, as long as there's not text lag. For instance my biggest issue with windows mobile on my treo pro right now is the lag I can experience mid-text (some keystrokes not being registered). If texting is seamless I am sold. Texting is not seamless on slider phones.
Maybe the Pixi just doesn't like Engadget, did you ever think about that Josh?
I kind of like it. I am an old Palm 700 user, (had that phone for 4 years - the battery would last for days on a charge) I switched to an HTC phone with a slide out keyboard last year, and hate it. Part WinMo, part keyboard, part battery, and part round circle thing.
I personally would really like a new phone with that old 700 keyboard. I don't care if it is thin, (if it is thick, I want more battery though). I don't know about a 2 MP camera (Ugh) I want 5mp. Looking at the Pixi, it seems they had more real estate for the screen, and it looks like the keyboard could have been bigger as well. I hope on the Pre 4G, they make the phone larger and include a larger battery.
It also would not hurt to allow other phone manufacturers to add WebOS to their WinMo/Android lineup. When Apple, Amiga & Atari were competing against the PC in the early 90s, Amiga and Atari got wiped out, and Apple nearly fell too. And the 4th best system DOS+Windows 3.0 came out on top. Palm could make the best phone ever, but if they follow Apple's model, they will be like Amiga.
Follow WinMo and Android please. (stick to software, and let HTC & Samsung make your devices).
Can it still sync with iTunes like its older brother?
It seems to me that none of the photos show the phone with any live software running. This would suggest that production is not exactly close.
You have a DROID, a DROID Eris, a Pre, a Pixi, an iPhone 3GS, an HTC Hero, and an HD2 spread out before you? Which do you choose?
I'd choose the Eris.
Why? Because the excitement of having a cool new gadget wears off pretty quickly. And then you have to deal with the massive lump of Pre or DROID pressing against your thigh whenever you leave your home for two full years. Or you can buy an almost identical phone with a different processor that you'll quickly forget about, that fits nicely in your pocket. (And half the price is good too.)
That is unless I really wanted a hardware keyboard. In that case I'd certainly choose the Pixi, which absolutely trounces the competition in terms of form factor.
It's funny reading all the Engadget and Gizmodo articles where they scratch their heads wondering why Verizon is releasing the Eris alongside the Droid or why Sprint is releasing the Pre at all. The Eris actually is an improvement over the Hero, it shaved a tiny bit from each dimension on an already small device. Form factor is meaningful, it's a large part of why apple has had such amazing success.
I've largely replaced my customized 15.6 inch HP with a $200 Dell Mini 9 (running Kubuntu 9.10!) and my jumbo Creative with a 4GB Zune. It's nice to shed ones burdens, and be able to move again.
"OS speed has been a causality"
I guess I'm pretty sure you mean casualty.
He meant causality, as in the speed is slower due to multiple tamperings with the past, confusing the processor.
How is that background called they always have on the back of there phones by engadget?
Excellently written review Josh. Always a pleasure to read these in-depth articles - keep it up!
What's that wallpaper in the pic?
eboy wallpaper
Even with the 30 dollar Wal-mart deal, I would opt for the Pre instead since its price is so low now. Honestly, if Palm keeps the Pixi's price where it is, it wont sell very well compared to its sexier older brother.
A better price would be free, with contract of course. Or the current price for an unlocked version.
Oh for, FEWER mistakes. One makes fewer mistakes, "we did find ourselves making less mistakes."
Beautiful. Serious. The Pixi is beautiful. Could Palm be pulling a Wii on the Android/iPhone clash?
Josh, why are you such a hater man? Can you talk about some good things about the phone instead of spending 70% of your time *making the phone slow down* just so you can bitch. To quote you, "SooOOoooOOoooOooo annoying!!!".
Where can I find that background wallpaper he is using on the pixi?
No Wi-Fi, No Buy.
when you hear pixi, you would think it's some 12 megapixel hunk but it isnt
anyway .. even though it is well designed don't you think the screen is a bit big according to the keyboard.
also .. why is there a space between the screen and the keyboard? the keyboard vould have been made a bit larger
Looks like a G1 with a Hero ROM, both graphically and in performance :-/
I purchased the palm on Sunday and have to say that I was extremely disappointed. I previously had a Palm 755p and waited to get the palm pixi because I did not particulary like the slide up and down of the Pre. After one day of a too small phone, poor screen, and camera, I returned it for the Pre. I have to get used to the slide feature but over all I am happy and it feels much better.
I complained so I did not have to pay the $35 restocking fee but did have to pay the extra $50 bucks.
where can i find that wallpaper?
@MaTr3o Josh custom cuts those, using Eboy wall papers. search eboy on google image and you can find some of them, then crop it to proper size.
If i didnt get myself and my wife a Pre at launch, I would have gotten her a Pixi. All the benefits of WebOs, no need for Wifi and extra power. I on the other hand do need the wifi, specifically for all the OTA downloading, and do need the extra power. I think they're a good team. But the price point is distorting that now.
Me personally I'm an iPhone guy
but i do like the lil pixi music
they play during the commercials
and to think i paid $50 for my TP2. the two phones are in completely different classes. i think to be honest this phone should be $10 or less.( for one thing my tp2 actually has wifi and a huge screen) but i have to admit it sure looks pleasing to the eye:)