First Look at the Upcoming Palm Pixi

The best way to describe the new Palm Pixi is that it is a downsized and downgraded version of the highly successful Palm Pre. However, equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard as well as having more personalization options, the Pixi hopes to further the accomplishments achieved by its older brother. Let’s see if this candy bar Smartphone has what it takes to reach the heights set by its predecessor.

The Significant Bits

Apart from a few features, the Pixi can pretty much match the Palm Pre in terms of its feature set. For instance, the Palm’s renowned mobile operating system, webOS, is still on the Pixi, as is the full QWERTY keyboard. However, this time around, the keyboard doesn’t slide out as it’s already installed on the Pixi’s main front surface. The only glaring discrepancy is Wi-Fi connectivity which has become quite a crucial loss for the Pixi. The ability to connect to the net via WLAN has become almost a prerequisite feature for all of today’s Smartphones that intend to contend in the dog eat dog market.

Another significant downgrade is made evident by the Pixi’s smaller touch screen display. Although it is still of the TFT capacitive type, it has gone down to 2.63 inches and, more importantly, to 320 x 400 pixels in resolution. The 2-Megapixel snapper on the Pixi is an even bigger disappointment than that of the Pre which had a mediocre 3-megapixel camera on board.

Hands-on Notion

Based on initial testing, everything seems to be looking good for the Pixi. As mentioned earlier, this Smartphone will still have the same OS which is definitely a good thing. In exchange for the trackball, Palm has installed a new “touch area” on the Pixi. It pretty much delivers the same results as the Pre’s trackball, and there isn’t too big a difference when it comes to its effect on application usage.

The Pixi is also a much lighter and slimmer device that the Pre which means that it becomes easier to keep in the pocket.

What to Expect

Since the Palm Pixi has been labeled as a downgraded version of the Pre, it will definitely come with a cheaper price tag. It aims to capture the less-than-£100 market. Taking this fact into consideration, the Pixi is definitely able to provide value for money.

So if you’re looking for a Smartphone that won’t require you to give up your next paycheck then the Pixi is probably the device for you. Just don’t expect the cutting edge features of an N97 or an iPhone 3GS on it. All in all, it’s a pretty decent device that will likely succeed in its particular target market, especially because of the fact that the Palm Pre has paved the way for its ambitious younger brother.

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