Palm released its new Pixi smartphone Sunday, hoping to keep its new and well-received webOS mobile platform moving forward. The smartphone, which will be available through Sprint Nextel, comes amid rumors that Nokia is interested in buying the struggling device maker.
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The Pixi, said Senior Vice President Kevin Packingham, is fun and easy to use. He noted its multi-touch screen, full QWERTY keyboard, messaging and social-networking capabilities, and $99.99 price with a two-year service agreement and rebates. There are reports that the Pixi will sell as low as $30 through mass retailers, such as Wal-Mart.
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‘Like Flipping’ Cards
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Palm highlighted Pixi’s ability to keep multiple activities open and allow users to move between them with natural gestures, like flipping through a deck of cards. The company said this allows a user to move easily between e-mail and web browsing while enjoying music.
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Other features include linked contacts, where a single view links contacts from various sources, and layered calendars, so the user can toggle between one calendar and a variety of them. There is also combined messaging, enabling all conversations with the same person to be seen in a chat-like view, even if it started in IM and moved to text messaging.
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Avi Greengart, an analyst with Current Analysis, noted the Pixi’s small form factor and described it as Sprint’s bid for an entry-level touchscreen smartphone.
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The new product, he said, is aimed at the same crowd that bought Palm’s successful Centro model. He said he enjoys the new webOS, and that it would be a no-brainer for anyone looking for a webOS product to pay slightly more for the Palm Pre and its additional features — not the least of which is a larger screen with higher resolution.
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Nokia, Dell, HP?
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Palm CEO Jon Rubinstein has told news media that he expects to sell about 10…